WORCESTER, Mass. - The annual Worcester Landlord Summit gave residents the opportunity to learn about the local housing market and address other concerns.

What You Need To Know

  • The annual Worcester Landlord Summit gave residents the opportunity to learn about the local housing market and address other concerns

  • President of the Realtor Association of Central Massachusetts Cherie Benoit said prices have definitely skyrocketed over the last few years and one of the main problems has been lack of inventory

  • Benoit said another issue has been the lack of maintenance for some apartments and homes that would otherwise be availible

  • State Representative David LeBoeuf said he and other city leaders are pushing for legislation that would mandate a statewide zoning ordinance to relieve some of the burden on people who are struggling to afford housing

Cherie Benoit is the president of the Realtor Association of Central Massachusetts, she said one of the major challenges the city of Worcester and the commonwealth is facing is the cost of living.

"Prices have definitely skyrocketed over the last few years and one of the main problems we've been facing is a lack of inventory," Benoit said. "Both rental housing and housing for sale and the lack of inventory has made it very challenging for people to find a place to live."

Benoit said there are some available apartments and homes available, but the other issue has been a lack of maintenance.

She said lead and other environmental issues are keeping several places from being suitable for living and said landlords would help themselves and others by keeping the area up to standard.

"Try to make sure you're in compliance," Benoit said. "Try keeping everything up to code. So that you can turn over your property quickly and you won't have to do a lot of work because a lot of properties around here are dated."

Some of the concerns expressed by the community on Saturday were the lack of affordable units in new and developing mixed-use housing complexes.

"One of the great things we have in Worcester is an inclusionary zoning ordinance, which requires that a certain number of units be available to people of different income levels and people with disabilities," said State Representative David LeBoeuf of the 17th Worcester District.

LeBoeuf said he and other city leaders are pushing for legislation that would mandate a statewide zoning ordinance to relieve some of the burden on people who are struggling to afford housing.

"These are people that are working. These are people that are contributing to our economy," LeBoeuf said. "These are our neighbors and any of us could be one medical incident, one job loss or one family crisis away from homelessness and we want to do everything we can to keep people in their homes."