Landlords, tenants get assist coping with foreclosure crisis

With foreclosures soaring, Boston's Inspectional Services Department is trying to help landlords and tenants cope with the problem.

On Thursday, the department will host the "Rental Property Survival Seminar," the second of four such seminars to be held this summer.

The session, which is free, will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the department's offices on the fifth floor at 1010 Massachusetts Ave.

According to Dion Irish, the department's assistant housing commissioner, the seminar will focus on helping both tenants and landlords understand their rights during foreclosure and try to help those already embroiled in legal proceedings. In addition to department staffers, the panel will include Diane Marchioni, head of the foreclosure-intervention team from the Department of Neighborhood Development.

Irish said the theme for this month's seminar was driven partly by the requests of the attendees of the June session, which featured a "Kids Can't Fly" theme focusing on window screen safety and preventing falls. He said most of the 15 people who attended were landlords, and were a very inquisitive bunch.

"A lot wanted to talk about foreclosure," he said. "We'll probably talk about it at future sessions as well."

Those seminars will be held on Aug. 28 and Sept. 25 and will cover more than just foreclosure.

The events give attendees a chance to talk with Inspectional Services Department staff about issues that aren't directly related to featured topic.

Irish said it is a good chance to educate landlords about how to deal with code violations, inspections, and tenants who don't pay their rent, while tenants can inquire after their rights as renters and how to become landlords.

KIMBERLY SANFELIZ