Metro West housing survey: 56% of Framingham respondents reported unstable housing; coalition urges renter protections

The Metro West Housing Coalition told the Framingham City Council on May 6 that more than half of the 66 Framingham residents it interviewed in 2024 reported unstable housing and that financial barriers were widespread.

The coalition’s presentation, led by Caden Davis of the Metro West Care Connection, summarized findings from community listening sessions and program data. “56% of the residents we spoke with reported an unstable housing situation,” Davis said, defining unstable housing to include shelters, temporary stays with others, sleeping in vehicles and renting units people cannot afford.

The coalition’s nut graf: the listening sessions and supporting referral data show a growing, urgent local need for affordable and stable housing. The coalition offered three near-term priorities for the council: preserve existing affordability, explore local protections for renters and small landlords, and prepare for municipal authority to pursue rent stabilization if state legislation grants it.

Davis described…