Boston has a wealth of much-needed housing assistance programs, splintered throughout the city. The new Office of Housing Stability hopes to unite those resources and help existing residents to stave off displacement.

“The city recognizes that there are many departments doing small pieces of this work,” said Sheila Dillon, chief of housing and director of the Department of Neighborhood Development. “The idea is that we centralize it.”

Mayor Martin Walsh announced the office during his 2016 State of the City address. Constructing new homes is a top priority for the Walsh administration, which has committed to building out 53,000 housing units by the city’s 400th anniversary through the Boston 2030 plan.

“New homes will help bring costs back to working people’s budgets,” Walsh said in the speech. “But many just want a fair deal where they live right now. ”

It is becoming increasingly difficult for residents to stay in their homes in a booming market. Foreclosure rates are rising, coalescing with soaring housing and construction costs buoyed by an influx of more than 38,000 people from 2010 to 2014.

Walsh said the Office of Housing Stability, will “develop resources for tenants, incentives for landlords who do the right thing, and partnerships with developers to keep more of our housing stock affordable.”

Structuring the office is in early stages, Dillon told the Reporter on Monday. They are looking to hire an executive director, with the official job posting to go up imminently. In conception, the office would start small with a dedicated staff of case workers.

Dillon said their services will include budgeting help, assistance with domestic issues by connecting residents to the right social services, and primarily bolstering tenancy retention resources.

“We’re working very, very hard to help tenants stay in their apartments” Dillon said. “We’re going to try to save as many tenancies as we can.”

Crucially, it would provide some much-needed consistency for residents struggling to stay in their homes and their neighborhoods. Case managers are planned to stick with tenants in need throughout the process, so troubled renters could go through a series of extra-office resources but maintain contact with a worker familiar with all aspects of their case.

The office met with the Boston Tenant Coalition on Monday, Dillon said, and part of their plans include meetings with the city’s largest landlord and management companies.

Thomas Callahan, executive director of the Dorchester-based Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance says there seems to be potential for the office to help connect flexible landlords with tenants in need.

Callahan said he has increasingly noticed buyers and renters choosing to settle outside Boston proper, chasing more affordable living arrangements with their families in tow.

“That’s not healthy for the city,” Callahan said, “when we’re losing people who have grown up here, established roots here, and just can’t afford to stay.”

Foreclosure rates are climbing, though they remain well below mid-crisis 2008 levels. According to a report by the real estate data firm The Warren Group, 4,399 foreclosures were completed statewide in 2015, up 21.4 percent from the 3,623 in 2014.

In some cases, foreclosure cannot be avoided, but Dillon said the office would dedicate itself to trying to ensure a tenant could stay in their home neighborhood if not their original home.  

Which circles back to building new houses. Callahan said increasing affordable housing is the “ultimate solution,” but the housing stability office’s resource-centering approach is a smart strategy to retain those who already live in the city.

“During our evenings, we’ve all been following up on cases,” Dillon said. “There’s a lot of people in need, and the mayor had his own cases. And it was his idea that we really centralize this activity and give it the attention and the prominence that it deserves.”