It is an all-too common pattern in the world of real estate: Small, occupied properties enter the market and are immediately snapped up by owners or investors. The investors empty the properties by evicting tenants, renovating the buildings, and raising rents. Neighborhoods are thus left vulnerable to market forces, a problem that Mayor Martin Walsh’s administration hopes to address through its pilot Acquisition Opportunity Program.

The city has allocated $7.5 million of inclusionary development funding to assist small-scale landlords and community groups in purchasing and developing affordable housing.

Developers can be pre-approved to receive up to $75,000 per unit, provided they commit to at least 40 percent affordability for each one over the next 50 years. The “affordable” benchmark would be for families making up to 60 percent of the area median income. But if lower affordability levels were already in place under existing agreements, the landlord would be required to maintain those levels.

“The program will also prevent displacement of tenants threatened by the forces of gentrification by ensuring that their apartments will not become unaffordable over the long term,” the mayor’s office said in a statement on Tuesday.

The eviction of tenants in good standing is expressly prohibited in properties purchased with the Acquisition Opportunity Program funds. Owners will be required to see existing lease agreements through to their legal conclusions, as long as the occupants are not in arrears or otherwise in poor standing. In those cases, normal protocols would apply, officials said.

A major challenge for developers who would like to invest in small-scale, owner-occupied residences is quick access to cash. “Affordable housing developers can be outpaced in the housing market because private investors often have access to capital and cash that may not be as readily available to affordable housing developers,” the mayor’s office said.

Development teams could counteract that disadvantage by becoming pre-qualified for investment through the pilot program, which would guarantee a set amount of accessible funding.

According to the city’s formal Request for Proposals, eligible investments must total at least eight units located within the same market area and owned by the same entity. To make this requirement, developers would have to acquire buildings with at least two units, which must be occupied or partially occupied, investor-owned buildings. Vacant properties would be assessed on a case-by-case basis.​

This program is distinct from the still-undetermined “incentives for landlords who do the right thing” suggested by Mayor Walsh in his 2016 State of the City address, Department of Neighborhood Development officials said.

As a pilot initiative, the Acquisition Opportunity Program is approved for a one-time infusion of funds that will continue until they are exhausted. As $75,000 per unit is the maximum amount the city will offer, at least 100 units could be covered under the approved $7.5 million.

The Inclusionary Development Policy fund is filled by the fees required when developers build market-rate housing in the city. They contribute to a pot allocated toward developing affordable housing while committing to constructing proportionate affordable units.