Residents band together in battle against nuns forcing them out of apartments

A group of Boston residents are banding together in a battle against the nuns they say are forcing them out of their apartments.

The Catholic organization, the Daughters of Mary of the Immaculate Conception, has offered a reliable source of housing, especially to senior women, for more than 50 years.

But, some of the residents who have called Our Lady's Guild House home for decades say they're well aware that more affordable housing in Boston is being gobbled up by a competitive housing market.

They say, up until recently, they felt they had a safe and reliable home because of the Catholic values the facility was founded on.

"It was a nice community thing," Judy Burnette said. "A lot of women were there because they were religious. They shop together and cook meals, and did religious work in chapel."

The 130-unit building in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood has provided the affordable housing for low income and senior women for more than five decades, but Burnette and fellow longtime residents say the warm welcome has come to a close.

"First, pissed," Burnette said. "That's what they do, it's for money. So, yes, it's for profit."

Burnette said most of the residents over 60, like her, have been pushed out in the name of that profit, after being sent notices that their leases weren't being renewed.

The Fenway Community Development Corporation is among the groups fighting for Burnette and nine others holding out to stay in their homes.

"It goes against so many Catholic values of compassion, of community, of caring for the poor," Fitzpatrick said. "The real hard evidence we have, this is age discrimination."

Fenway Community Development Corporation organizer Colleen Fitzpatrick pointed to the recent influx of college students taking up residence, and the building's website, which, up until recently, had been advertising to women between the ages of 18 and 50.

"We're seeing that the older are getting pushed out, the most vulnerable to displacement, and then they're having a hard time competing," Fitzpatrick said. "It seems to be driven by greed and intent to make more money."

Burnette said the group likely figured they could take advantage of the residents, hoping they'd just accept the news.

"They figured we were a bunch of women, and we're just going to keel over and roll over and let them do what they wanted to do," Burnette said.

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A spokesman for Our Lady's Guild House told Boston 25 News the residents are making false claims in an attempt to negotiate permanent residency, saying a management company it hired made it clear that it was temporary housing, not permanent.

“It is important that the mission behind OLGH continues and that the building remains one where women can take advantage of the affordable rent and convenience of living in the heart of Downtown Boston as they look for long-term housing plans," the organization wrote.

Our Lady's Guild said it is working with the Attorney General's Office to come to a mutually-agreeable solution for all parties, and a spokesman said the cost of running the facility has drastically increased since the City of Boston started charging them for property taxes in 2014.

The group's full statement can be read below:

"The mission of Our Lady's Guild House is and always has been to provide short term residential housing to single women. In 2014, the previous management company worked with tenants to implement new lease agreements, which made it clear that the building is designed for temporary, not permanent, housing. In 2016, OLGH changed management companies in order to improve tenant services and building operations. In 2018, when tenant leases were complete, most of the residents honored their agreement and transitioned out of OLGH.

However, despite having agreed to the 2014 lease and knowing full-well that OLGH is for temporary housing, a handful of tenants proceeded to make false claims and accusations of the management company and OLGH in an attempt negotiate permanent residency. OLGH is and always has been a home for single women who are seeking temporary housing and any claims to the contrary are false.

Currently, OLGH is working with the tenants and the Attorney General's office to come to a mutually agreeable solution for all parties. It is important that the mission behind OLGH continues and that the building remains one where women can take advantage of the affordable rent and convenience of living in the heart of Downtown Boston as they look for long-term housing plans."

Cox Media Group