Fairlawn Estates

In late February, two days before she had to vacate her apartment, 73-year-old Margaret Nichols got a knock on her door. She’d been rushing to fill moving boxes and pack up her apartment of more than 20 years. After years of paying her climbing rent at the recently rebranded “SoMa at the T” complex in Mattapan, she’d spent nearly all her savings and had to give up.