March 24, 2021

Residents of Athol home park told to stick together

BY Greg VineAthol Daily News

ATHOL — State Rep. Susannah Whipps, Athol Town Manager Shaun Suhoski, Athol Selectboard Chair Rebecca Bialecki, and Leigh Woodruff of Community Legal Aid all had the same message for residents of the Miller’s River Wood/River Bend pre-fab housing development: Stay united.

In response to a decision from the state Supreme Judicial Court, Hometown America of Chicago informed each of the 141 homeowners at the housing development late last month that they have until April 1 to sign either a new long-term lease or a tenancy-at-will agreement, otherwise it will be assumed that individuals who decided not sign will be vacating their property.

Residents of Miller’s River Wood/River Bend own the homes in which they live but rent both the parcel on which their home is located and the cement slab on which it sits.

Woodruff told a meeting attended by more than 100 homeowners and interested family members Sunday afternoon that they do have options.

“The first thing I want to say,” said Woodruff, “is that nobody needs to be moving out and feel they need to take action on this before April 1. I know these documents that came out Feb. 24 included what’s called a ‘notice to quit,’ which sounds really scary. That document says you have to sign certain papers or you are going to have to move by April 1, and that is just not accurate.”

Woodruff explained that, for those people currently in the midst of a five-year lease, Hometown America cannot move to raise their rents until their leases expire. To those homeowners who are now paying month-to-month, she said, “It’s you folks that really have some decisions to make.”

She said residents could either sign a new lease, sign a notice of intent, or sign neither while agreeing — for now — to abide by the higher rent structure.

“But it seems like you have a good group of people interested in working together,” Woodfuff continued. “I would encourage you, I would encourage your elected officials to try to work with Hometown to come up with a realistic solution that will maintain everybody’s stability in their housing and really be achievable over the long term.

“It makes no sense for you all, obviously, but also for Hometown as a business, to set itself up for failure if it’s charging people rent they can’t pay. And I’m certain it can’t be a good thing for the community to deal with uncertainty and also the potential displacement of people. So, I really encourage communication and working together.”

Woodruff stressed that homeowners did have some time in which to act.

She said the worst-case scenario for those month-to-month renters who initially refuse to pay the higher rent is that Hometown could begin eviction proceedings. The process of going to housing court could take several months. In many cases, she continued, a mediated agreement could possibly be reached.

In the event no agreement was reached, and Hometown won its case, people over the age of 60 would — by law — be given 12 months in which to sell their home; younger owners would have six months. But again, she emphasized, that would be the worst-case scenario.

State Rep. Susannah Whipps told Sunday’s gathering, “Having been on the Board of Selectmen in Athol for nine years, one of the biggest headaches I dealt with was out-of-town landlords; people who want you to send your check somewhere but don’t really come and check up on you. It’s something I have an awful lot of concern with, in regard to this property.”

Whipps said she and state Sen. Anne Gobi intend to contact Hometown America to set up a meeting to discuss the situation. She said she and her fellow lawmaker want to ensure the Chicago company isn’t taking advantage of residents of Miller’s River Wood/River Bend, the vast majority of whom are elderly.

Whipps also said she and Gobi want to know if Hometown America is getting any kind of tax break with the town of Athol, “because if they’re getting a break, you sure as hell should be getting a break, too.”

She said she hopes a meeting with the company’s representatives can be set up in the next week or two.

In response to inquiries from the Athol Daily News, a spokesperson for Hometown America said, “We understand this is confusing and unsettling for many of our residents. But these changes were forced upon all of us by the recent court ruling. In order to stay compliant with the SJC ruling, we landed on a new rent structure that we believe is fair and equitable for all parties. The unintended consequences of the ruling are an increase in rent for some residents and a decrease in rent for over two-thirds of the community. Our team is actively working with residents to mitigate the impact of those who are experiencing the biggest increase.”