Issues

Creation of Office of Housing Stability

This city department, which opened in 2022, helps Malden residents find and keep their housing by offering a range of services to renters, homeowners, and landlords. The Office of Housing Stability provides services including rental assistance, mortgage assistance, eviction and foreclosure prevention, legal assistance, landlord-tenant mediation, housing search, case management, and more.

Converting vacant homes into affordable housing

This effort is the next phase of a year-long study of Malden’s vacant properties, funded through MassHousing’s Neighborhood Hub program. Through this program, the City intends to acquire vacant homes, rehabilitate them, and sell them at an affordable price to low-income households. The City’s Inspectional Services Department (ISD) and Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development (OSPCD) are spearheading the effort.

Affordable Unit Creation

The former Salvation Army building was acquired by the Asian Community Development Corp. (ACDC) and together with the Mayor will work with OSPCD to develop over 20 units, all of which will be affordable housing. Additionally, Mayor Christenson proposed funding for Bread of Life, a local non-profit, to add 14 affordable studio apartments to provide permanent housing for very low-income formerly homeless individuals.

To continue to address the need for affordable housing, future projects are also in various stages of planning which will bring townhouses for purchase.

Eviction Moratorium During COVID

Malden was one of the last cities to lift the eviction moratorium in response to COVID. In December of 2021, the Mayor signed an executive order preventing evictions from being enforced in most cases and made $250,000 available in rental assistance through a partnership with the local nonprofit Housing Families, Inc. Both actions were taken in order to keep Malden residents safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. The executive order prevented evictions from being enforced in order to promote public health and applied to evictions due to nonpayment of rent and to no-cause evictions.