Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has signed a $5.16 billion housing bond bill, which she said is the largest investment toward housing production in the state’s history.
State officials have estimated that at least 200,000 new homes must be built by 2030 to keep up with demand.
“Today we are taking an unprecedented step forward in building a stronger Massachusetts where everyone can afford to live.”
The most expensive budget item in the bill, requiring $2 billion, will fund the maintenance, renovation, and redevelopment of local public housing. More than half of those state-managed units, which house more than 70,000 people, are 50 years old or older.
The massive spending package also features a variety of housing trust and investment funds, such as the Affordable Housing Trust Fund ($800 million), Housing Stabilization and Investment Trust Fund ($425 million), Housing Innovations Trust Fund ($200 million), and Middle Income Housing Fund ($100 million).
Those funds have different priorities, but they all offer money to either governments, nonprofit companies, or private builders to build new or preserve existing affordable housing.
The bill also allocates money for more specific environmental and social goals. For example, it uses $275 million to subsidize housing projects incorporating “efficient, sustainable and climate resilient design practices” and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It also sets aside $100 million to produce “for-sale, below-market housing” for first-time homebuyers.
There are also numerous policy changes. The most notable among them is the statewide legalization of accessory dwelling units (ADUs), which are small homes on the same lot as a single-family home or in a detached structure such as a garage or cottage.
Cities and towns are still allowed to have reasonable restrictions on ADUs, such as setbacks from property lines. But they can no longer enact stricter rules such as requiring more than one parking spot per unit or limiting who can live there, as some communities historically have done.
Gov. Healey’s office said they expect some 10,000 ADUs to be built over the next five years.
The bill also includes a provision allowing tenants to ask a court to have their eviction record sealed in cases such as a no-fault eviction, a dismissed case, or a case the tenant won. Before the change, landlords were able to consult those records in the state’s searchable court database when choosing a tenant.
As Massachusetts remains one of the most expensive states in the nation to buy a home or rent an apartment, state lawmakers, housing advocates, and real estate groups say they are hoping the multi-billion-dollar investment will bring much-needed relief.
