While Massachusetts does not have any laws or policies specifically designed to help address problems with utility bills if the consumer was a crime victim or domestic violence survivor, there are some tools that can prove very helpful for advocates to assist clients.
NCLC survey of Legal Aid and non-profit attorneys reveals credit reporting and debt collection consequences of alleged rental debt.
Brief outlining NCLC's 2021 student debt priorities for the Biden Administration
Brief outlining NCLC's 2021 Foreclosure Prevention and Mortgage Lending Priorities for HUD, FHFA, and the USDA
Read More about 2021 Foreclosure Prevention and Mortgage Lending Priorities: HUD, FHFA, USDA
Brief outlining NCLC's 2021 Foreclosure Prevention and Mortgage Lending Priorities for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Brief outlining NCLC's 2021 foreclosure prevention and mortgage lending priorities for the Biden Administration
Read More about 2021 Foreclosure Prevention and Mortgage Lending Priorities
Issue brief explores the need for serious, systemic reforms to ensure fairness and accuracy in credit and consumer reporting and to promote economic recovery by ensuring access to affordable credit, housing, and jobs.
Read More about 2021 Credit & Consumer Reporting Priorities to Promote Economic Recovery
Criminal justice debt stemming from fines and fees is disproportionately borne by low-wage workers without job security and people of color. These populations will experience the financial stress caused by the pandemic most acutely. Many will lose jobs and be unable to pay criminal justice debts through no fault of their own.
Today, to rent an apartment or nail down a job, you almost always have to pass a background check. About 94% of employers and 90% of landlords run criminal background checks, and about 85% of landlords review eviction information. Many landlords and employers purchase reports containing criminal and eviction records information from specialized tenant and…
Credit scores reflect dramatic and troubling disparities by race, due to a multitude of factors explored in this brief, including the racial wealth gap, decades of redlining and housing segregation, historical and present-day employment discrimination, and racially biased criminal justice practices.
Read More about No Silver Bullet: Using Alternative Data for Financial Inclusion and Racial Justice
Why we need the Fair Chance in Housing Act (FCHA) to keep credit reports out of housing decisions now. Credit Reports Will Be Negatively Impacted by the COVID Crisis Credit Reports Don’t Predict Current Ability to Pay Credit Reports Are Riddled with Errors Credit Reports Perpetuate Historic Racial Inequities and Injustices
Read More about Fact Sheet Supporting Mass Fair Chance in Housing Act re Credit Scores in Housing
Please support NCLC's work to advance consumer rights and economic justice with a tax-deductible contribution today!
Donate