Boston Housing Authority

The Boston Housing Authority (BHA) was established by order of the Boston City Council on Oct. 1, 1935, pursuant to St 1935, c 449, s 5, which empowered cities and towns of Massachusetts to establish housing authorities. Such a body is responsible for providing decent, safe, and sanitary housing for families unable to afford housing without public subsidy and for clearing substandard, decadent, or blighted open areas under the provisions of MGLA c 121B. To carry out these responsibilities BHA develops and manages housing projects and leases housing when necessary. It also performed the functions of an urban redevelopment authority until such a body was established separately pursuant to St 1957, c 150.

Housing authorities in Massachusetts are "bodies public and corporate" in that although they are created and their members appointed by a combination of municipal and state officials, once established they are managed, controlled, and governed by their members. Generally the authority's board of commissioners sets overall policy while the administrator and staff make recommendations to the board and carry out its daily operations. The autonomy of housing authorities, including BHA, is limited by the fact that their operations are funded and regulated by two supervisory agencies: the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development for federally-assisted housing and the Massachusetts Dept. of Community Affairs for state-assisted housing.

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