HOUSING MEDIATION
Housing Mediation
MetroWest Mediation Services is offering free mediation between landlords and tenants for non-payment situations. This program helps prevent homelessness by keeping tenants stably housed and landlords from mortgage foreclosures.
For more information or to schedule a free mediation, please contact Li, Coordinator of the Housing Mediation Program by filling out the form at the bottom of the page or calling 508-960-9336.
Para assistência em português: 508-960-9326.
Para asistencia en español: 508-960-9326.
Impact
MetroWest Mediation Services, founded in 1979, is a non-profit conflict resolution and training center. We facilitate peaceful resolution of disputes within all communities we serve, and through the courts, by supporting people to work together to resolve conflict.
Starting in November 2020, MetroWest Mediation’s Housing Mediation Program began receiving referrals for all residential eviction cases from the Framingham District Court. In addition, we receive referrals from community members, landlords, tenants and organizations for assistance in pre-court cases.
Our team works with landlords and tenants to create agreements that avoid eviction. This includes assisting tenants with rental assistance applications, negotiating payment plans, addressing behavioral issues, referring tenants to community resources and creating durable mediation agreements for the benefit of both landlords and tenants.
From the program inception, we have assisted in over 1240 cases, including pre-court and in-court eviction cases. We have helped settle over 1000 cases for an agreement rate of 82%. Agreements mean that the tenant stays housed or (less commonly) an agreed-upon move out date is reached to help the tenant find alternative housing. In addition, we have helped tenants access over $4 million in RAFT (Residential Assistance for Families in Transition), which has facilitated our high agreement rate by connecting landlords and tenants to necessary resources.
The success of our housing mediation program has contributed to Framingham having the lowest percentage of eviction orders as a percentage of overall Summary Process eviction filings of the 11 cities in Massachusetts with over 200 filings in District court between November 1, 2020 and December 31, 2025.
Framingham’s percentage of eviction orders was the lowest at 22%, compared with the average of 39% and a range up to 50%.
When our program started in 2020, the majority (85%) of our referrals for housing cases came directly from the court. Through increased awareness, partnerships and word-of-mouth referrals, over 80% of our cases are now referred to us pre-court before an eviction has been filed. This lets us intervene and support tenants and landlords at an earlier stage of the conflict.
Our staff speaks English, Portuguese, and Spanish, enabling us to directly serve most community members in need. Anyone in the MetroWest seeking assistance around an eviction case should contact us at www.metrowestmediation.org or 508-872-9495.
Testimonials:
“I recently received services from MetroWest Mediation. It was invaluable. Without MetroWest I would have been lost. The landlord has the court experience and lawyers but the tenant has nothing. MetroWest Mediation ensures that everyone is on the same level. They take the time to explain the process and make sure everyone understands what the next steps will be. They kept both party’s best interest in mind and came up with a workable and sustainable solution. I will be forever thankful for the service I received from MetroWest Mediation.”
“We were able to address and resolve many cases through mediation. Our mediator went above and beyond her duty with her dedication to assist both parties towards an amicable resolution. Through mediation, we were able to expedite the process to the satisfaction of both parties. A win-win outcome.”
“I write to commend you, MetroWest Mediation Services… your team has worked tirelessly to help Metrowest families obtain RAFT funding and stay in their homes. And you have succeeded with flying colors! Every time I am assigned to our Summary Process session, I witness a proverbial “love fest”. The landlords’ attorneys praise [you] for her work. The tenants praise Li for her work.
Everyone works together to accommodate each other to ensure that landlords are paid rent from the RAFT funding, and tenants remain in their homes. After a couple of years of more negativity than positivity in the world, it is so uplifting to see government (RAFT funding) at work, and to see community partners helping government work in such a positive way… I thank [MetroWest Mediation] for helping people stay in their homes, and for showing the community that government does work for people.”