HOUSING
Massachusetts is facing an historic housing crunch. Explore its root causes and implications for shelter systems, economic development planning, and the state’s competitiveness pitch with CommonWealth Beacon reporting.
Tax credits expected to turn old offices into 860 rental units
Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll announced the second tranche of commercial conversion credits, established through the 2024 Affordable Homes Act.
Beacon Hill housing moves swish past Boston
None of the big housing reforms passed recently on Beacon Hill apply to Boston, which is covered by its own state-authorized zoning code, not the code directly changed by legislation, which covers every other municipality in Massachusetts.
Federal housing bill includes modest help for Mass., but buzzy investor limitation unlikely to have much impact here
“It’s not very tailored to Massachusetts related-housing concerns,” said Andrew Mikula, senior housing fellow at the Pioneer Institute. “The bill nibbles at the edges on a number of process and regulatory standards,” which “disproportionately” affect other regions more than the Northeast.
Layered over ADU law, Senate duplex bill would allow three units on most residential lots
Lawmakers “could, say, take another 10, 20 years to ask cities and towns to legalize duplexes,” said Amy Dain. “We have learned that is not possible. You could spend 50 years on it and you would only see it at the margins.”
In the face of a state housing shortage, could single-family zoning be on the chopping block?
The Senate’s economic development bill, which lawmakers have teed up for a vote next week, includes a provision that would require municipalities to allow duplexes as-of-right on all residentially zoned lots.
Faced with crippling housing crisis, Beacon Hill nibbles at the edges
A rundown of recent actions, pending proposals, and actions at the Supreme Judicial Court influencing housing policy more aggressively than any single piece of legislation.
Homeowner satisfaction high in Gateway Cities despite a host of financial challenges, new poll finds
The poll highlights a clash between how people feel about homeownership and what it means for their finances. Gateway City homeowners were more likely to skip urgent home repairs due to cost, buy in neighborhoods that were not their first choice, and say that competition with other buyers was a barrier they faced.
Mass. high court strikes rent control question from ballot
The decision averts a months-long season of aggressive campaigning that seemed sure to generate tens of millions of dollars in spending on attack ads and dire warnings about economic upheaval.
New report urges state to think small on housing crisis
Massachusetts has become “a victim of our own affluence,” said Andrew Mikula, the report’s author. “It’s like we forgot how to build smaller homes that can be more affordable for folks.”
Powerful real estate group says it’s open to rent control compromise
With just two weeks until a controversial rent control ballot measure could be locked in, a flurry of negotiations — and pockets of sustained resistance — puts Beacon Hill in a tricky position.
Rent control backers scrambling to find legislative road away from the ballot
Organizers then went public Tuesday afternoon with what they touted as a compromise: limiting rent increases to no more than 10 percent per year, only in cities and towns that opt in.
Driscoll offers support for YIMBY legislation
Bay Staters “need to remember that zoning and zoning laws are provided to municipalities from the state,” said Rep. Andy Vargas. So, he said, “if we’re not building housing, it’s time for the state to relook at how we can take up that responsibility more aggressively.”
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