RELOCATION ASSISTANCE

M.G.L. pt. Part I, tit. Title XIII, ch. c. 79A

in effect

M.G.L. c. 79A, § 1 Definitions

c. 79A, § 1. Definitions Section 1. The following terms as used in this chapter shall, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context, have the following meanings: ''Acquisition'', the taking of real property by eminent domain, negotiated sale, or other means, by or for any public agency, or by any person or agency authorized to take by eminent domain, or by a corporation established under the provisions of chapter one hundred and twenty-one A. ''Bureau'', the bureau of relocation in the executive office of housing and livable communities. ''Business'', any lawful activity, except a farm operation, conducted primarily (a) for the purchase, sale, lease, and rental of personal and real property, and for the manufacture, processing, or marketing of products, commodities or any other personal property; (b) for the sale of services to the public; (c) by a nonprofit organization; or solely for the purpose of qualifying for moving and related expenses, for assisting in the purchase, sale, resale, manufacture, processing or marketing of products, commodities, personal property, or services by the erection and maintenance of an outdoor advertising display or displays which do not necessarily have to be located on the premises on which any of the cited activities are conducted. ''Comparable replacement dwelling'', one which is: (a) safe and sanitary, in conformance with the regulations of the department of public health entitled Article II of the state sanitary code, established pursuant to section one hundred and twenty-seven of chapter one hundred and eleven; (b) functionally equivalent and substantially the same as the acquired dwelling with respect to number of rooms, area of living space, type of construction, and state of repair, provided it is standard and adequate in size to accommodate the displaced person; (c) in an area not generally less desirable than the area in which the acquired dwelling is located and as similar as possible with regard to housing values, public utilities, and public and commercial facilities; (d) within the financial means of the displaced person, the gross cost of which is not greater than twenty-five percent of gross income; (e) reasonably accessible to the displaced person's present or potential place of employment; (f) available on the market to the displaced person; (g) open to all persons regardless of race, color, religion, sex or national origin and consistent with the requirements of Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. ''Displaced person'', any person who, on or after the effective date of this act, moves from real property, or moves his personal property from real property, as a result of the acquisition of such property or the receipt of a written order to vacate real property, for a program or project undertaken by an agency or person required to provide relocation assistance under this act. ''Dwelling'', a single-family building, a single-family unit, including a nonhousekeeping unit, in a two-family or multifamily building, a unit of a condominium or cooperative housing project, a manufactured home, or other residential unit. ''Farm operation'', any activity which is conducted solely or primarily for the production of one or more agricultural products or commodities, including timber, for sale or home use, and customarily produces commodities in sufficient quantity capable of contributing materially to the operator's support. ''Gross income'', projected annual income from all sources of each member of the family residing in the household who is at least eighteen years of age. ''Initiation of negotiations'', the date the acquiring agency makes the initial written offer to the owner of real property to be acquired for a project of an amount established by the agency as just compensation for the property. In instances where acquisition does not occur, initiation of negotiations shall mean the date of vacating. ''Person'', shall mean any natural person, trust, corporation, limited or general partnership, association, foundation, society, joint stock company, joint venture, or any form of business entity or enterprise, but shall not include an agency of the commonwealth. ''Personal property'', property which is: (a) tangible property situated on the real property vacated or to be vacated by a displaced person and which is considered personal property and is non-compensable as real property, and (b) in the case of a tenant, fixtures and equipment, and other property which may be characterized as real property under state or local law, but which the tenant may lawfully, and at his election, determines to move and for which the tenant is not compensated in the real property acquisition. In the case of an owner of real property, the determination as to whether an item of property is personal or real shall depend upon how it is identified in the acquisition appraisals and the closing or settlement statement with respect to the real property acquisitions; provided, that no item of property which is compensable under state and local law to the owner of real property in the real property acquisition may be treated as tangible personal property in computing actual direct losses of tangible personal property. ''Public agency'', any department, agency, board, commission, authority, or other instrumentality of the commonwealth or of a political subdivision of the commonwealth; or of two or more subdivisions thereof. ''Relocation agency'', an agency qualified under section two. ''Relocation payment'', any of the following types of payments: (a) for families and individuals, for moving and related expenses, for assistance in the purchase of a replacement housing unit, or for assistance in the rental of a replacement housing unit; (b) for business concerns, including nonprofit organizations and farms, for actual reasonable moving expenses, for the actual direct loss of tangible personal property, for actual reasonable expenses in searching for a replacement business, or for a fixed sum in lieu of the above equal to the business concern's average annual net earnings, but not less than two thousand five hundred dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars. ''Relocation plan'', the plan submitted by a displacing agency to the bureau pursuant to sections four and eight.

M.G.L. c. 79A, § 2 Relocation advisory agency; necessity of qualification prior to displacement of occupants

c. 79A, § 2. Relocation advisory agency; necessity of qualification prior to displacement of occupants Section 2. No acquisition, rehabilitation, demolition, or other improvement which shall involve the displacement of occupants of dwelling units or business units shall be made unless and until the bureau has qualified a relocation advisory agency to give relocation assistance to the occupants to be displaced. Any agency, public or private, may be qualified by the bureau to act as a relocation agency until such time as the bureau may, on stated grounds, withdraw qualifications; or the bureau may qualify any agency, public or private, proposed by a displacing agency to act as a relocation agency with respect to particular acquisitions. The bureau may qualify a displacing agency to act as the relocation agency with respect to particular acquisitions.

M.G.L. c. 79A, § 3 Projects displacing occupants; agencies to provide relocation assistance

c. 79A, § 3. Projects displacing occupants; agencies to provide relocation assistance Section 3. Any public agency, or any person authorized to take by eminent domain, including corporations established under the provisions of chapter one hundred and twenty-one A, shall provide relocation assistance and payments under this act upon undertaking a project which results in displacement of occupants by the acquisition of real property or by the issuing of a written order to vacate for purposes of rehabilitation, demolition, or other improvement.

M.G.L. c. 79A, § 4 Relocation plans; submission; contents

c. 79A, § 4. Relocation plans; submission; contents Section 4. At the time of the submission of an application for public approval or funding for a project involving the displacement of more than five dwelling or business units, the displacing agency shall submit to the bureau of relocation a relocation plan. The relocation plan shall show the names and addresses of all occupants to be displaced; the number of individuals, families, and business concerns to be displaced; the date on which such displacement will begin; the needs of the displaced occupants for relocation assistance; the availability of safe and sanitary housing, commercial buildings or sites within the means of occupants to be displaced; a program for their relocation; and a demonstration in accordance with bureau regulations that the relocation agency has coordinated the plan with other planned or proposed land acquisitions in the city or town which may affect the carrying out of the relocation program. In the case of the displacement of the occupants of less than six dwelling or business units, the displacing agency shall not be required to submit any such relocation plan, but shall provide a relocation assistance program, as set forth in section six and shall pay any such displaced occupant relocation payments, as set forth in section seven.

M.G.L. c. 79A, § 5 Relocation plans; examination; review; approval

c. 79A, § 5. Relocation plans; examination; review; approval Section 5. If the costs of relocation assistance are reimbursable in whole or in part by the federal government and the relocation plan is required to be examined and reviewed by an agency or department of the federal government or to comply with the requirements of an agency or department of the federal government, the bureau shall receive the relocation plan for informational purposes and for the purposes of section nine. Any relocation assistance required under this chapter which is in addition to applicable requirements under federal law shall be subject to review by the bureau to determine whether there has been compliance with the provisions of section four. The bureau shall approve any plan which has been approved by such agency or department of the federal government and complies with requirements for such additional relocation assistance. The bureau shall review all other relocation plans to determine whether there has been compliance with the requirements of section four and any regulations which are issued from time to time by the bureau in pursuance thereof, to determine whether there has been adequate provision for the needs of occupants to be displaced and whether there are adequate relocation housing and business locations for such occupants. The bureau shall approve any relocation plan which complies with the aforesaid requirements.

M.G.L. c. 79A, § 6 Carrying out relocation plan; program requirements

c. 79A, § 6. Carrying out relocation plan; program requirements Section 6. After approval has been granted in accordance with the provisions of section five, the relocation agency shall be authorized to carry out the relocation plan. Each relocation assistance program shall (1) fully inform eligible persons at the earliest possible date as to the availability of relocation payments and assistance; (2) supply displaced occupants with information concerning public and private housing programs, commercial sites, and social and economic assistance programs; (3) assist in securing within a reasonable period of time prior to displacement suitable standard replacement housing within the financial means of the families and individuals displaced; (4) assist owners of displaced businesses and farm operations in obtaining and becoming established in suitable business locations or replacement farms; and (5) administer relocation payments in a fair and equitable manner.

M.G.L. c. 79A, § 7 Relocation payments; alternative and additional payments; exemption from attachment or execution; exclusion from determination of eligibility for certain public benefits

c. 79A, § 7. Relocation payments; alternative and additional payments; exemption from attachment or execution; exclusion from determination of eligibility for certain public benefits Section 7. I. (A) Any agency or person specified under this act which acquires real property, or issues an order to vacate real property for purposes of rehabilitation, or demolition, or other improvement, shall make fair and reasonable relocation payments to displaced persons and businesses, upon proper application, for: 1. actual documented reasonable expenses in moving himself, his family, his business, farm operation, or other personal property; 2. actual direct losses of tangible personal property as a result of moving or discontinuing a business or farm operation, but not to exceed an amount equal to the reasonable expenses that would have been required to relocate such property, as determined by the relocation agency; and 3. actual reasonable expenses in searching for a replacement business or farm. (B) Any displaced person eligible for payments under subsection (A) who is displaced from a dwelling and who elects to accept the payments authorized by this subsection in lieu of the payments authorized by subsection (A), may receive a moving expense allowance not to exceed three hundred dollars, determined in accordance with the prevailing fixed payment schedule of the department of highways, and a dislocation allowance of two hundred dollars. (C) Any displaced person eligible for payments under subsection (A) who is displaced from his place of business or from his farm operation and who elects to accept the payment authorized by this subsection in lieu of the payment authorized by said subsection (A), may receive a fixed payment in an amount equal to the average annual net earnings of the business or farm operation, except that such payment shall not be less than two thousand five hundred dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars. In the case of a business, no payment shall be made under this subsection unless the business (1) cannot be relocated without a substantial loss of its existing patronage, and (2) is not part of a commercial enterprise having at least one other establishment not being acquired, which is engaged in the same or similar business. For purposes of this subsection, the term ''average annual net earnings'' means one half of any net earnings of the business or farm operation, before federal and state income taxes, during the two taxable years immediately preceding the taxable year in which such business or farm operation moves from the real property, or during such other period as the relocation agency determines to be more equitable for establishing such earnings, and includes any compensation paid by the business or farm operation to the owner, his spouse, or his dependents during such period. II. (A) In addition to payments otherwise authorized by this act, an additional payment not in excess of fifteen thousand dollars shall be made to any displaced person who is displaced from a dwelling actually owned and occupied by such displaced person for not less than one hundred and eighty days prior to the initiation of negotiations for the acquisition of the property. Such additional payment shall include the following elements: 1. The amount, if any, which when added to the acquisition cost of the dwelling acquired, equals the reasonable cost of a comparable replacement dwelling which is decent, safe, and sanitary and adequate to accommodate such displaced person, reasonably accessible to public services and place of employment and available on the private market. The reasonable cost of a comparable replacement dwelling shall be determined by analysis of existing available standard dwellings which are functionally equivalent and substantially similar to the acquired dwelling and located in a comparable, but not less desirable, neighborhood, in accordance with a method approved by the bureau of relocation, unless otherwise provided by federal law. 2. The amount, if any, which will compensate such displaced person for any increased interest costs which such person is required to pay for financing the acquisition of any such comparable replacement dwelling. Such amount shall be paid only if the dwelling acquired was encumbered by a bona fide mortgage which was a valid lien on such dwelling for not less than one hundred and eighty days prior to the initiation of negotiations for the acquisition of such dwelling. Such amount shall be equal to the excess in the aggregate interest and other debt service costs of that amount of the principal of the mortgage on the replacement dwelling which is equal to the unpaid balance of the mortgage on the acquired dwelling, over the remainder term of the mortgage on the acquired dwelling, reduced to discounted present value. The discount rate shall be the prevailing interest rate paid on savings deposits by commercial banks in the general area in which the replacement dwelling is located. 3. Reasonable expenses incurred by such displaced person for evidence of title, recording fees, and other legal and closing costs incidental to the purchase of the replacement dwelling, but not including prepaid expenses. (B) The additional payment authorized by this section shall be made only to such a displaced person who purchases and occupies a replacement dwelling which is decent, safe, and sanitary not later than the end of the one year period beginning on the date on which he receives final payment of all costs of the acquired dwelling, or on the date on which he moves from the acquired dwelling, whichever is the later date. III. In addition to amounts otherwise authorized by this act, a payment shall be made to any displaced person, not eligible to receive a payment under subdivision II, who actually and lawfully occupied the dwelling from which he is displaced for not less than ninety days prior to the initiation of negotiations for acquisition of such dwelling. Such payment shall assist the displaced person: (A) To pay any increase in cost required to lease or rent for a period of four years, a decent, safe, and sanitary comparable replacement dwelling of standards adequate to accommodate such person in an area similar with regard to economic rents to the area of displacement, but not generally less desirable in regard to public utilities and public and commercial facilities, and reasonably accessible to the displaced person's place of employment, but not to exceed four thousand dollars. The cost of a comparable replacement dwelling shall be determined by analysis of existing available standard dwellings which are functionally equivalent and substantially the same as the dwelling from which the person is displaced, provided it is standard, in accordance with a method approved by the bureau of relocation, unless otherwise provided by federal law; (B) To make a down payment, including incidental expenses described in clause 3 of subsection (A) of subdivision II, on the purchase of a decent, safe, and sanitary dwelling of standards adequate to accommodate the displaced household, and shall be in an amount equal to the amount which would have been required to pay any increase in rent for comparable replacement housing over a four year period as defined above. In no event may the total payment exceed four thousand dollars. All determinations required to carry out subdivisions I, II, and III shall be determined by regulations issued pursuant to section twelve, unless otherwise provided by federal law. Any person aggrieved by a determination as to eligibility for, or the amount of, a payment authorized by this act, may have his claim reviewed by the head of the displacing agency through a grievance procedure approved by the bureau of relocation. Where such person is not satisfied with the agency's determination after such review and reconsideration, he is entitled to review of this claim by the bureau of relocation and the disposition of the bureau of said claim shall be final. Relocation payments granted under the provisions of this chapter shall not be subject to attachment by trustee process or otherwise, nor shall they be subject to be taken on execution or other process. Payments received under this chapter shall not be considered as income for such purposes as establishing eligibility or the extent of eligibility of any person or family for publicly sponsored housing or public assistance programs including, without limitation, state and federal assistance to veterans.

M.G.L. c. 79A, § 8 Substantial changes of relocation plans; notice; review; approval

c. 79A, § 8. Substantial changes of relocation plans; notice; review; approval Section 8. The taking agency or relocation agency shall inform the bureau of any substantial changes made in the relocation plan after approval under section five; and such changes shall be subject to review and approval under the provisions of section five.

M.G.L. c. 79A, § 9 Suspension of approval of relocation plan; notice

c. 79A, § 9. Suspension of approval of relocation plan; notice Section 9. If the bureau determines that a taking agency or relocation agency is proceeding with a project in disregard of a relocation plan approved under section five, and that relocation assistance being given is inadequate, the bureau shall so notify the relocation agency and the taking agency in writing, and may suspend its approval of the plan. Upon receipt of written notice of such suspension, the taking agency shall not further displace occupants until the bureau notifies it in writing that such suspension is withdrawn. Written notice of suspension shall be sent by registered mail, and shall state the specific reasons for such suspension.

M.G.L. c. 79A, § 10 Emergency projects; emergency approval

c. 79A, § 10. Emergency projects; emergency approval Section 10. If a relocation plan required by section four is disapproved under section five, or approval is suspended under section nine, because the bureau determines that adequate relocation housing is not available, the taking agency may file with the bureau its certificate that the project involved is an emergency project which must be carried out in spite of the unavailability of such housing. If the bureau, after considering the foregoing and such other evidence as is deemed pertinent, determines that the project involved is an emergency project and that the public interest demands the displacement of occupants even though adequate relocation housing may be unavailable, emergency approval may be given, provided the relocation plan is satisfactory to the bureau in other respects.

M.G.L. c. 79A, § 11 Expenditure of funds by public agency or municipality; state financial assistance

c. 79A, § 11. Expenditure of funds by public agency or municipality; state financial assistance Section 11. Funds appropriated or otherwise available to any public agency for the acquisition, rehabilitation or demolition of real property or any interest therein for a particular program or project shall be available also for obligation and expenditure to carry out the provisions of this act as applied to that program or project. If a municipality acquires, rehabilitates, or demolishes real property, and state financial assistance is available to pay the cost, in whole or part, of the acquisition, rehabilitation, or demolition of such real property, or of the improvement for which such property is acquired, the cost to the unit of local government of providing the payments and services prescribed by this act shall be included as part of the costs of the project for which state financial assistance is available to such municipality, and shall be eligible for state financial assistance in the same manner and in the same ratio as other project costs.

M.G.L. c. 79A, § 12 Regulations; powers of bureau

c. 79A, § 12. Regulations; powers of bureau Section 12. The bureau may promulgate regulations to carry out the purposes of this chapter and to assure that relocation payments are administered in a manner which is equitable and uniform; and may agree to waive with respect to any particular acquisition any provision of this chapter which would constitute a bar to federal reimbursement otherwise available with respect to any project on account of which such acquisition is proposed.

M.G.L. c. 79A, § 13 Enforcement of state sanitary code; displacement of persons; moving expenses; state financial assistance; reports

c. 79A, § 13. Enforcement of state sanitary code; displacement of persons; moving expenses; state financial assistance; reports Section 13. Any public agency displacing one or more persons by issuing an order to vacate real property for the purpose of enforcing Article II of the state sanitary code, pursuant to section one hundred and twenty-seven B of chapter one hundred and eleven, shall provide relocation assistance and a relocation payment to such person or persons for actual reasonable documented expenses in moving his personal property from the real property, unless such payment is otherwise provided. The provisions of this section shall apply only to real property which is not part of or constitutes the entirety of a project where relocation payments would otherwise be required. In instances where such enforcement results in the eviction of occupants, the state shall reimburse the locality carrying out such enforcement for fifty per cent of the costs of providing such relocation assistance and moving payments. Such state financial assistance shall be contingent upon the provision of relocation services and payments as documented by periodic reports as required by regulation pursuant to section twelve.

M.G.L. c. 79A, § 14 Projects utilizing public mortgage financing; moving expenses

c. 79A, § 14. Projects utilizing public mortgage financing; moving expenses Section 14. Any person utilizing mortgage financing issued, insured, or subsidized by a public agency, including an agency of the federal government, for a project resulting in the displacement of occupants, shall provide relocation assistance and a relocation payment to any such displaced occupant for actual reasonable documented expenses in moving his personal property from such real property.

M.G.L. c. 79A, § 15 Severability

c. 79A, § 15. Severability Section 15. If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.

Source: Massachusetts General Court (malegislature.gov)URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXIII/Chapter79AFetched: 10/20/2026