Framingham Leaders Address Local Affordability Challenges, Solutions

FRAMINGHAM - “I would have loved to stay in Framingham, but under unfortunate circumstances, we couldn’t find anything affordable,” said Raquel Tacuri, who was a resident of Framingham for 13 years. Following the birth of a child, she and her family struggled to find affordable housing for their family of five. After over a decade, they were forced to move nearly an hour away. 

She’s not the only one leaving the city–and Massachusetts in general–due to exorbitant housing costs. She yearned for Framingham to be more affordable. 

The average rent cost for a one-bedroom apartment in Framingham is over $1,400, with median single-family home prices at $655,000. This reflects prices throughout Massachusetts; according to the MetroWest Economic Research Center’s (MERC) 2024 Cost of Living index, housing remains the biggest contributor to the high cost of living. MERC’s data shows that the cost of living in MetroWest has nearly doubled since 2009. The Framingham Housing Authority (FHA) told The Frame that approximately 30% of someone’s income should be devoted to housing. 

Family Promise Metrowest Executive Director Brandon Ward, who is also the City Councilor for Framingham’s 2nd District, said it’s common for families to get a significant rent increase any given year. He added they are often “forced to move out of the community because they can’t find anything affordable.”

“(Housing prices are) obscenely high. I don’t know how people are paying the rent these days, and I don't know how they’re justifying it,” said Ben Burke, a Framingham resident and property owner. Burke came to the area from San Francisco 16 years ago, and seemed open to relocation as his children got older.

City Council Chairman Phil Ottaviani told The Frame that there is a “huge” housing crisis in the city.

“When we talk about affordable housing, it’s really not affordable, to be honest with you,” the District 6 City Councilor explained.

“When you sell a half-duplex in Framingham off of Kendall Avenue for $750,000, the American dream is not the American dream anymore for young kids…it’s just a struggle. The rents are through the roof in Framingham also…that’s what we hear constantly, that we don’t have enough housing for the workers who work in the city of Framingham.” 

The Framingham City Council voted unanimously to keep interest rates the same within the city. Rent control legislation is also underway statewide.

Ward added that housing affordability is getting more attention because of the MBTA Communities Act, a piece of state legislation requiring cities and towns with MBTA stations to have at least one multi-family housing district within their zoning by right. Framingham achieved full compliance with the act in July, opening up access to various state resources and funding. Zoning is now also provided for over 5,000 multi-family units–1,000 more than what state law required. 

“We want people to be able to live, work and play in Framingham,” Ottaviani continued.

The City Council Chair added that a significant number of people are hesitant to purchase a home due to the instability of interest rates and tariffs from the federal government, along with slowing construction. 

“One day it’s one thing, the next day it’s something else,” Ottaviani said on factors such as interest rates and tariffs.

“You’ll see housing projects in Framingham that were started or permitted but not going on to the next level because interest rates have gone from three to almost seven percent.”

Ottaviani mentioned that most affordable housing organizations have waitlists of nearly 10 years, with veterans and people in extreme circumstances, such as eviction, being moved to the top. 

Both Ottaviani and Deputy Executive Director for the FHA Helen Plant said that people struggling to afford their housing face other insecurities, mainly related to food and medication. The FHA is a government agency operating and managing public housing throughout Middlesex County.

“For us as a housing authority, our ability for housing stabilization is that we’re here and able to provide housing for families that are in need,” Plant explained.

“We try not to evict families that are in housing, we try to work with them. It’ll happen, it does happen…we can’t provide as much housing as we want because we’re limited by the number of units, but we do try to be a resource to connect people.” 

Ottaviani said that the City Council encourages constituents to reach out to their elected officials; the local government can offer resources and refer people to local organizations to ensure access to affordable housing. He encouraged working with local banks, the South Middlesex Opportunity Council and community development block grants–all of which have programs for first-time homebuyers. 

Both Ottaviani and the FHA echoed that landlords should understand the population they’re serving, especially renters. Plant explained that there is a range from low to high-income earners in Framingham and would like to stay there, but can’t afford to. She said landlords should closely examine their tenants’ rent structure, while Ottaviani emphasized utilizing resources in the area, as rent only seems to be increasing. 

MERC data from last year shows that a majority of cost-burdened households are renters as opposed to owners.

Plant and Jackie Vega, FHA’s public housing director, told The Frame that rent for FHA housing is calculated based on income and that people are often surprised at their rent costs when they’re “barely making ends meet.”

Vega said rent control is a must.

“If Framingham wasn’t so expensive, people wouldn’t be looking to us to help them out…there’s really not enough space for us to build or repurpose a building,” Vega said.

The FHA provides people in need of low-income housing application guidance and ensures eligibility. They also provide a variety of resources for families, seniors and people with disabilities. 

Ward explained that marginalized groups and people of color are disproportionately affected by the housing crisis, and that it is illegal to discriminate in providing housing. Ward added that Family Promise has a bilingual staff to help navigate a “really complicated bureaucracy,” and that organizations supporting affordable housing in the area are always accepting donations and encourage community involvement in events.

“Teachers, firefighters, service workers in Framingham, people who grew up in Framingham, they can’t afford to live here anymore because of the lack of housing availability,” Ward continued.