Where We Are

New England has some of the oldest and most decrepit housing in the country. New England has more than twice the national rate of homes built before 1940. In addition, the New England percentage of homes with severe physical problems is twice that of the U.S. In 2007, New England had higher rates of signs of mice, leaks from outside, lacking complete plumbing, roofing, siding and foundation problems.

A majority of people in Massachusetts and nationally prefer smoke-free housing.  Approximately 85% of Boston residents do not smoke, and data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that 76% of Massachusetts residents already have smoke-free policies in their homes. Unfortunately, because smoke cannot be contained in one unit, residents of multi-unit housing are too often unwilling exposed to a neighbors drifting smoke and, as a result, their health suffers.

In Massachusetts for the years 2006 to 2007, according to the MA BRFSS Asthma Call Back Survey, Massachusetts residents with current asthma reported the following conditions or behaviors in their homes:

• Mold inside the home in the past 30 days: 16.4% adults, 8.7% children
• Mice or rats inside the home in the past 30 days: 7.9% adults, 11% children
• Cockroaches inside the home in the past 30 days: 3.7% adults, 1.4% children
• Carpeting or rugs inside the bedroom: 58.5% adults, 56.3% children
• Smoking inside the home in the past week: 18.2% adults; 3.5% children
• Used a mattress cover and/or pillow cover: 32.6 adults; 41.8% children (pillow 29.4%; 37.6% children)