Accomplishments Over the Past Year

Cambridge remained a leader in recognizing the need for more housing. Inclusionary housing, which requires developers to incorporate affordable units into new residential buildings, has generated a significant amount of new affordable housing in Cambridge in recent years.

Overall, in FY24, the City is dedicating more than $60 million from a variety of sources to address affordable housing and homelessness.

In FY23, the City:

• Assisted 23 homebuyers with the purchase of City-assisted affordable homes.

• Facilitated access to affordable rental housing for 268 households through the City’s unified application for inclusionary rental housing covering more than 70 properties.
  • With more than 1,100 completed rental units, more than 850 households have been moved into inclusionary rental units in the past five years.

• The City continued to coordinate with 15 neighboring municipalities through the Metropolitan Mayors Coalition Housing Task Force to promote housing growth across the region to address the long-term shortfall in housing production and establish a regional goal of building 185,000 new housing units by 2030.

• Assisted more than 800 residents with housing related concerns including tenant rights, unit or building conditions, landlord responsibilities, affordable housing opportunities, building sales, and health or safety questions. 

• Assisted 215 residents with ongoing field-based intensive case management. Residents who received this deeper level of support included those with complex housing situations and/or personal health or mental health needs. 

• Assisted 38 residents with successfully securing new permanent affordable housing.

• Assisted 59 Households that were displaced from their home due to fire or other emergencies.