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Lynn, MA Anti-foreclosure ordinance

Override vote - May 14, 2013

The Lynn City Council voted unanimously on May 14, 2013 to overturn Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy's veto and adopt the strongest anti-foreclosure law in the state. A crowd of over 100 rallied in support of the measure outside City Hall before the vote. Several hundred supporters packed the City Council Chambers to watch the override vote. The measure has been described by housing advocates among the toughest in the entire country.

Public hearing and vote - April 9, 2013

On Tuesday, April 9, 2013, the City Council of Lynn, MA voted unanimously to adopt the strongest anti-foreclosure ordinance in the state. Hundreds of Lynn United members came to support passage of the measure, along with allies from other organizations and concerned Lynn residents.

Addressing the Foreclosure Crisis in Lynn, MA

Fact sheet also available as a printable (pdf) file.

Why do we need this ordinance?

The foreclosure crisis continues to damage our city. There are foreclosed homes in every part of our city. Lynn has the fourth highest proportion of distressed housing units in the state among comparable "gateway" cities. Of the 30 most distressed census tracts in the entire state, two are in Lynn. Our city's rate of distressed housing is almost double the state average. (Data: Massachusetts Housing Partnership Foreclosure Monitor, 2/20/2013, Tim H. Davis.)

Thousands of Lynn families are in foreclosure now, have already been foreclosed, or are in danger of foreclosure as they struggle to keep up with payments on inflated (and often predatory) mortgages.

The big banks that created this crisis aren't helping solve it. Despite being bailed out, they are still refusing to work with or provide serious relief to most distressed homeowners. One example: the banks recently admitted illegally foreclosing on hundreds of veterans, after having downplayed this problem for years.

Foreclosures have a negative impact on entire neighborhoods:

  • Property values in surrounding areas decline
  • Banks usually evict after foreclosure, leaving properties vacant. They are often vandalized, and many are not well maintained. Thieves break in to steal copper. Pipes burst in the winter. There is a greater risk of fire in vacant buildings (as we saw recently on Sewall Street). All of these things harm the entire community, and leave residents and the city government to deal with the fallout.
  • The neighborhood ties that hold communities together are lost if families are forced out of their homes

It's time for us to take action to help our neighbors, and to protect ourselves against further damage. This crisis is either directly or indirectly impacting all of us.

What does the ordinance do?

The experiences of other cities and states, as well as homeowners here in Lynn, make it clear that a combination of measures is required. We need a response that is strong enough to really make a difference. This ordinance meets the challenge with three components: mandatory mediation (requiring banks to meet with homeowners face-to-face to attempt to find an alternative to foreclosure); preventing unnecessary vacancies (if there is a foreclosure); and a maintenance and bond requirement (to ensure banks take responsibility for properties they control following foreclosure).