Georgetowne Homes is a community of 967 town homes in Hyde Park. MAHT first helped Georgetowne tenants organize in 2006, when the complex's existing Section 8 contract was set to expire, potentially leaving hundreds of tenants at risk of displacement through the conversion of their units to market-rate housing. Through a combination of powerful tenant leadership, and a creative subsidy and development plan, MAHT and the tenant association, Georgetowne Tenants United (GTU), succeeded in convincing owners and agents to preserve all the units at Georgetowne as deeply affordable housing.

In March of 2021, MAHT and the tenants association organized again around 123 tenants who had received eviction notices due to back rent. Later that year the tenant group met with Dara Kovel, the CEO of Beacon, the management company for Georgetowne. Again through tenant leadership and creative negotiation, MAHT, GTU, and Beacon developed the Beacon Eviction Prevention Plan, which provides a wide range of measures and policies to prevent evictions. Beacon implemented the plan in all the properties it manages, and there have since been no evictions for nonpayment of rent.

Since then, MAHT works regularly with the tenants association to fix mold and water leaks, and to lead civic engagement activities such as voter registration, education, and mobilization.

 

Georgetowne in the News

Boston Globe

Mayor Michelle Wu's visit