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Read our organization's latest statements, view updates, and access information on today's trending topics and news stories.

  • 02 Jun 2023 6:00 PM | Anonymous
    May 30: Letter to the editor: Portland’s Question A is good for housing stock 

    Phil St. Germain of Cape Elizabeth wrote a letter to the editor in support of Question A. Germain notes, “Question A encourages the landlord to invest in the unit, creating an apartment that people want to rent...the new tenant gets an updated apartment they love, the landlord gets to update the apartment to meet tenant expectations. All of this happens with a “yes” on Question A.” 

    Read the full article here. 

    May 31: State extends use of Saco hotel as transitional housing for asylum seekers 

    Catholic Charities Maine and the state of Maine have extended their contract with a hotel in Saco that offers housing for asylum seekers through June, with plans to continue operations through December. As of mid-May, 320 people were housed in the hotel. 

    Read the full article here. 

    May 31: $500,000 donation ‘a huge step’ toward new shelter in Brunswick 

    Tedford Housing, a Brunswick nonprofit, received a donation of $500,000, helping to bring it closer to its goal of $8.3 million needed for the construction of a new emergency housing shelter. Mid Coast-Parkview Health and LincolnHealth Community Health Improvement Committee made the donation. 

    Read the full article here.

    June 1: Real Estate Insider notebook: Szanton plans 72 apartments in Lewiston; Gorham grants; a 'funky' boutique 

    The Szanton Company will unveil its latest affordable apartment project next week in Lewiston at a groundbreaking ceremony. The project will offer 72 mixed-income units. 

    Read the full article here.

  • 19 May 2023 5:50 PM | Anonymous

    May 15: Bangor nonprofit to turn vacant buildings into housing for unhoused individuals 

    Nonprofit, Design Wall Housing, is currently looking to renovate a vacant building or home in Bangor for those experiencing homelessness. In addition, Design Wall Housing plans to offer rents that “align with voucher programs in the area.” Penobscot County commissioners have given a grant of $25,000 to help. 

    Read the full article here. 

    May 15: Portland to close emergency shelter at Expo in August 

    An official date hasn’t been set yet, but Portland officials are meeting next Monday to determine when to close the emergency Portland Expo shelter, which currently houses 300 people. Portland has a contractual obligation to close the shelter by August, so the city will need to start the decommissioning process. The city is working with other partners on opening another emergency shelter, but no locations have been finalized. 

    Read the full article here. 

    May 15: Hundreds of asylum-seekers apply for Brunswick housing 

    A new housing development in Brunswick is set to open its first building in August. The affordable housing development Brunswick Landing is a 60-unit community for asylum-seekers. With five buildings set to open between August and November, Brunswick Landing currently has a full waiting list of over 250 families.   

    Read the full article here.  

    May 15: YWCA in Bar Harbor buys 27 acres to create affordable housing 

    The YWCA of Mount Desert Island purchased a 27-acre plot of land in Bar Harbor with plans for an affordable rental housing community. The development will likely be divided into phases starting with affordable apartments. 

    Read the full article here. 

    May 16: City removes Bayside homeless encampment in Portland 

    On Tuesday, the homeless encampment behind Trader Joe’s near the Bayside Trail was removed. Over 80 tents had been set up since January at the Bayside encampment. City-run shelters are currently full. The encampment was removed due to public health and safety concerns. 

    Read the full article here. 

    May 16: Portland among U.S. News' Top 10 'Best places to live' 

    Portland was ranked number 7 for best places to live by U.S. News. According to the real estate editor at U.S. News, Devon Thorsby, “people are considering more than housing when they look at an area’s affordability.” 

    Read the full article here. 

    May 18: Nontraditional 3i Housing project poses new challenges for Scarborough Planning Board 

    3i Housing project poses new challenges for the Scarborough Planning Board. The new project at The Downs in Scarborough would create more than 50 affordable units for individuals with disabilities. However, the number of appropriate parking spaces is a point of concern, and the Scarborough Planning Board is worried about the building’s smaller lot size. 

    Read the full article here.

  • 28 Apr 2023 5:43 PM | Anonymous

    April 25: Portland landlords launch campaign to drum up support for rent control referendum

    In a recent article by Maine Public, Rep. David Boyer of Portland was interviewed and spoke about his campaign involvement. Rep. David Boyer notes in the article that the referendum "is a really common sense fix to alleviate the pressure that housing providers feel to raise the rent," and reduces the incentive to do so because housing providers know they will be able to bring their properties "to fair market value once a tenant voluntarily vacates." 

    Read the full article here. 

    April 25: Portland landlords rally in support of ballot measure to remove rental increase caps on eligible vacant units 

    On Tuesday night, the Campaign to Fix Rent Control held its campaign kick-off. "Landlords who support the measure say that it would allow them to bring their apartments up to market rate while protecting renters. They believe that removing the cap would discourage "no-cause evictions" and eliminate the need for yearly rent hikes during a renter's tenancy."

    Read the full article here. 

    April 25: Crumbling former Bangor YMCA could be razed for new affordable apartments 

    Penobscot County commissioners met with Penquis, a community action organization, to discuss selling and turning the city's former YMCA building into affordable housing. The commissioners still need to meet with other interested parties  

    Read the full article here. 

    April 26: Portland to remove homeless encampment off Marginal Way 

    The City of Portland is working to close a homeless encampment off Marginal Way in Portland. Riverside Street's new Homeless Services Center is at capacity, leaving no emergency shelter beds. Portland's emergency shelter assessment committee met Wednesday to discuss the Marginal Way encampment. 

    Read the full article here.

    April 27: With few rentals available, states push local officials to allow more housing 

    In 2022 Maine was among the top states with the highest homelessness rates and lowest rental vacancy rates. Maine's rental vacancy rate was 4% last year, while the national average was 5.8%. Massachusetts had the lowest rental vacancy rate in the country at 2.8%, which "essentially means that no apartments are available, since a small percentage of apartments are always vacant for renovation or awaiting renters who have already signed a lease."

    Read the full article here.
  • 21 Apr 2023 8:39 AM | Anonymous

    April 17: Maine cities and towns struggle to implement pioneering housing law 

    On July 1st, housing law LD 2003 will go into effect, and smaller cities and towns are struggling to implement the changes to their town ordinances in order to comply. As a result, lawmakers are considering a proposal to delay the law. 

    Read the full article here. 
     

    April 18: Legislators move to create housing subsidies for homeless students 

    The Legislature’s Committee on Housing voted unanimously in favor of LD 1422, a bill that aims to connect the Maine State Housing Authority and school district homeless advocates to help homeless students. The bill is endorsed as an “emergency so that it would take effect immediately once approved by at least two-thirds of the Legislature and signed by the governor.” 

    Read the full article here. 

     
    April 20: South Portland enacts new ordinances related to homelessness 

    Two new ordinances have been enacted in South Portland relating to people experiencing homelessness. South Portland will now allow for the establishment of homeless shelters under one of the new ordinances. The other ordinance requires hotels operating as homeless shelters to return to normal business operations. 

    Read the full article here.
  • 14 Apr 2023 6:00 PM | Anonymous

    April 10: Lewiston will use HUD funds to rehab up to 1,500 housing units 

    Lewiston plans to renovate 1,500 housing units through the HUD Choice Neighborhoods Initiative grant. Lewiston is the only city in Maine to receive federal funds through this grant. The $1.8 million in federal funds will be used to restore local housing projects.   

    Read the full article here.

    April 11: Bangor closes encampment, connects unhoused people with housing options 

    The City of Bangor has been working to close down one of its homeless encampments, which is along Valley Avenue. For the past couple of weeks, outreach workers have been at the encampment working with people to secure permanent and temporary housing. This is the City of Bangor’s first attempt to implement an emergency management approach with their technical assistance team to close a homeless encampment. 

    Read the full article here. 

    April 11: Maine bill would exempt small towns from having to approve accessory dwelling units 

    A new bill LD214 has been put forward to exempt towns with fewer than 10,000 people from implementing the new law LD2003. Those favoring LD214 say, “smaller towns often lack the infrastructure or space” for accessory dwelling units. 

    Read the full article here. 

    April 11: Waterville Planning Board cites benefits of multimillion-dollar housing project 

    The Waterville Planning Board on Tuesday viewed preliminary plans for Head of Falls Village, a proposed housing project which would build 63 new units downtown. Portland-based Renewal Housing Associates LLC and Northland Enterprises Inc are developing the project. Units are set to be rated at a mixture of workforce and market rates. 

    Read the full article here. 

    April 12: Landlords raise nearly $80,000 to support referendum eliminating rent cap 

    In the article, RHA President Brit Vitalius notes, “a campaign requires money to be raised and spent – which is why the Democratic Socialists are also fundraising. At the end of the day, this remains a terrible way to make housing policy but the cost to Portland if we don’t fix rent control is higher than the cost of any campaign.” 

    Read the full article here.
     
    April 12: $1.5M federal grant funneled to Maine's affordable housing crisis 

    Affordable housing lender The Genesis Fund was awarded a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Treasury Department. The Genesis Fund plans to funnel the grant to areas that have experienced COVID-19 economic impacts to help “address the state’s affordable housing crisis.” 

    Read the full article here.

  • 07 Apr 2023 6:00 PM | Anonymous

    April 3: Avesta saw double-digit jump in those seeking affordable housing last year 

    Maine's largest affordable housing developer, Avesta Housing, had a 26% increase in its waitlist last year. Less than 4% of applicants were able to move into an Avesta Housing complex.   

    Read the full article here.  

    April 4: Maine House Speaker Talbot Ross touts ‘housing first’ plan 

    On Tuesday, Maine House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross presented a bill to devote $13 million to provide permanent housing for those experiencing chronic homelessness. The housing is not planned for people needing emergency shelter for short amounts of time. 

    Read the full article here. 

    April 4: Historic Maine church to become needed housing 

    The Auburn City Council approved the sale of the St. Louis Church to Tom Robinson. Robinson plans to transform the church into a 20-unit complex of one and two-bedroom apartments. 

    Read the full article here. 

    April 6: Portland Expo to open Monday as emergency shelter for asylum seekers 

    On Monday, the Portland Expo will open for temporary emergency shelter. 1,2000 people are currently being provided shelter on a nightly basis in Portland. The city had been utilizing a school gym as an overnight overflow shelter space. The Expo is the last overnight overflow shelter space the city has access to currently. 

    Read the full article here.
  • 31 Mar 2023 5:19 PM | Anonymous

    March 27: A coastal Maine suburb is filling empty spaces with housing 

    As July 1st approaches and housing law LD 2003 goes into effect, Yarmouth plans to utilize more character-based developments to meet requirements set for all towns. 

    Read the full article here.

    March 28: Ask the I-Team: Can security deposits be increased alongside rent in Maine? 

    The CBS13 I-Team recently looked at rental security deposits being increased as rent is increased under a new lease agreement. RHA President, Brit Vitalius, was interviewed by the CBS13 I-Team: "There is nothing illegal about increasing the security deposit as long as both parties agree...it's relatively rare to see the deposit increased with rent, but because it's usually equal to one month's rent, it's understandable why the owner might want to keep the two the same.

    Read the full article here. 

    March 28: Riverton Park public housing complex slated for $60 million redevelopment 

    On Tuesday, the Portland Planning Board was shown redevelopment plans for the Riverton Park public housing complex. The redevelopment would add over 40 units to the complex. 90% of the units are designated to be set as affordable housing. 

    Read the full article here. 

    March 28: Cumberland council approves TIF district for affordable housing development 

    The Cumberland Town Council, on Monday, approved a tax increment financing (TIF) district for one of its proposed affordable housing developments. The project is one of three Cumberland is reviewing. 

    Read the full article here.


  • 24 Mar 2023 6:44 PM | Anonymous

    March 20: Portland City Council sends to voters a citizen-initiated proposal to eliminate a rent cap 

    On Monday night, Portland’s city council voted to send our amendment to the June election. RHA President, Brit Vitalius, was interviewed by WMTW regarding the amendment, saying that “it would also allow landlords to cover their expenses and make necessary improvements.” 

    Read the full article here. 

    March 20: Letter: Rent control is violation of Fifth Amendment 

    Timothy Robinson of Portland wrote a letter to the editor declaring rent control violates the Fifth Amendment. Robinson notes, “The government’s use of eminent domain has come to be known as taking and our government’s taking has manifested in two forms: one, a land grab, or two, the imposition of weighty government regulations. In theory, the government must reimburse the property owner the fair market value for most seizures.”   

    Read the full article here. 

    March 21: Waterville City Council approves housing rental registration ordinance 

    The Waterville city council approved a housing rental registration ordinance on Tuesday. The ordinance requests property owners register their buildings with the city instead of requiring them so that the city can “contact landlords in an emergency.” 

    Read the full article here. 

    March 21: Three affordable housing projects in the works in Cumberland 

    Cumberland city council plans to announce three affordable housing projects next week. The three projects will provide at least 225 residential units. All three projects will likely involve the Maine State Housing Authority.   

    Read the full article below. 

    March 22: Divided council passes rent control in South Portland, in effect until 2030 

    South Portland city council passed a rent control ordinance, which will go into effect in June. Enforcement of the new ordinance is left up to tenants. 

    Read the full article here. 

    March 23: Portland real estate developer committed to expanding Maine's affordable housing stock 

    The Szanton Company is currently constructing another affordable apartment complex. They are halfway through their Bathproject. 

    Read the full article below.  

  • 17 Mar 2023 3:33 PM | Anonymous

    March 14: Portland Planning Board gets first look at proposed Bayside project with 800 housing units 

    On Tuesday night, the Portland planning board discussed Port Property’s and West Bayside Partners LLC proposed redevelopment proposal for Portland's Bayside neighborhood. The proposed master development plan calls for the construction of 804 new units, with 603 units at market rate and 201 affordable units.

    Read the full article here. 

    March 14: Maine lawmaker sees malls as a solution to the housing shortage 
    Rep. Richard Campbell of Orrington has introduced a bill to convert vacant shopping malls into housing. Campbell's bill is a concept draft with no language attached to it and only carries a goal the new housing committee will complete the bill's crafting. 

    Read the full article here. 

    March 14: Augusta launches debate over how best to improve conditions in the city's housing stock 

    Augusta city council has proposed a rental ordinance requiring landlords to pay a registration fee of $100 per rental unit annually. This fee would be utilized to cover the city's need to hire additional code enforcement officials and inspect housing units more frequently. In addition, a discussion is underway of creating a separate task force to address safety and improve housing stock. 

    Read the full article here. 

    March 14: Cape Elizabeth debates affordable housing 

    Cape Elizabeth is looking to implement a new state law (LD 2003) that offers the ability to build multi-unit housing in residential zones. The tow ordinance committee proposed a 200-unit housing project which would then allow for larger apartment complexes to be built after. Cape Elizabeth town council is currently seeking a scaled-back version. 

    Read the full article here. 
     
    March 15: New affordable housing complex for older Mainers opens in Old Orchard Beach 

    A newly developed 55-unit affordable housing complex began moving residents in on Wednesday. The Szanton Company built the complex with partial funding from MaineHousing loans. 
    Read the full article here. 

    March 15: Why rent control won’t solve the issue of high rents in the US 

    CNBC recaps how rent control policies affect housing affordability, and why economists argue that rent control deters developers, which in turn worsens the housing supply crisis in the United States. 

    Read the full article here. 

  • 10 Mar 2023 3:02 PM | Anonymous

    March 7: Waterville council moves toward ‘compromise’ housing rental rules that drop mandatory registration 

    On Tuesday night, the Waterville city council approved one of two needed votes to pass the rental registration ordinance. The City council voted to request that property owners register their buildings with the city instead of requiring them.   

    Read the full article here. 

    March 8: Lewiston considers vacant school property for affordable housing units 

    The Lewiston city council voted on Tuesday to postpone their decision regarding the redevelopment of a former elementary school into an affordable housing development for seniors. The project developer is Lewiston Housing, and they have plans for 44 affordable housing units. The matter has been postponed till April.   

    Read the full article here. 

    March 8: South Portland City Council moves rent stabilization ordinance forward 

    South Portland city council voted 4-3 on Tuesday to move forward with its rent stabilization ordinance. The second reading and vote for the ordinance is on March 21. If passed by May 27, the ordinance would take effect, the same day South Portland’s moratorium on evictions and rent increases expires. 

    Read the full article here. 

    March 8: Three rescued from Gorham apartment building fire late Tuesday night 

    A rental housing provider in Gorham is working to put tenants up in a local motel and return their March rent payment after an apartment building fire. "It was very important to me for my tenants to have a place to be and go", landlord Eileen Kalikow said Wednesday. She said she's owned the Narragansett St. property for 30 years and her priority is to help the affected tenants. 

    Read the full article here. 

    March 9: Maine State Legislature considers a slew of new bills 

    Rep. Chris Kessler of South Portland has sponsored a bill requiring an increase in advanced notice from landlords for tenants on rent increases. Kessler’s new bill was received on Thursday. 

    Read the full article here. 

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