Written By: Mike Kriesberg
The 2025–2026 legislative session formally came to a close on July 31, but the Legislature’s work is not yet finished. Lawmakers have returned to the State House to resolve bills still pending in conference committees, including the economic development bill and environmental bond bill. As that work resumes, now is a good time to take stock of what the Legislature has accomplished this session, what remains unfinished, and what opportunities remain to advance meaningful housing reform.
AHMA’s Priority Bills
First, let’s start with a review of AHMA’s top priority bills from this past session.
- (H.1572 / S.2836) – An Act to Promote Yes in My Backyard
The YIMBY Bill had an up-and-down journey this session. After a strong showing of support during its hearing in September, the House chose to not act on the bill, effectively sending it to study. However, the Senate reported an amended version of the bill out of committee favorably in December and sent it to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. While the bill technically has not moved since then, a key provision from the YIMBY Bill – the statewide legalization of duplexes – was included in the Senate’s version of the economic development bill. That bill passed the Senate on June 23rd and is now in a conference committee with the House’s economic development bill, where negotiators are working on a compromise between the two. Over the next few months, we will be working to ensure that the statewide legalization of duplexes is included in the final compromise bill. - (H.1542 / S.964) – An Act to Study Single-Stair Residential Buildings
The single-stair study bill had a much more straightforward journey than the YIMBY Bill. After its public hearing, the bill received a favorable report from the Joint Committee on Housing and was referred to each chamber’s respective Committees on Ways and Means. Before the legislature acted further, Governor Healey issued an Executive Order based heavily on the bill that would create a technical advisory group to study “the conditions under which single-stair multifamily residential buildings should be permitted in Massachusetts.” The group includes building officials, fire safety professionals, architects, and housing advocates, including Abundant Housing MA. After a slow start, the group is scheduled to have its first meeting in October. We look forward to working with fellow committee members to develop a policy proposal that will lower costs, and bring safe and family-friendly homes to Massachusetts communities. For more information about single-stair buildings, check out Boston Indicator’s report Legalizing Mid-Rise Single-Stair Housing in Massachusetts. - (H.1482 / S.969) – An Act to Establish an Accessory Dwelling Unit Trust Fund
Like the single-stair bill, An Act to Establish an Accessory Dwelling Unit Trust Fund also received a favorable report from each chamber and was reported to their respective Committee on Ways and Means. However, there has not been any movement on the bills since then. This does not mean that the State has been quiet on ADUs. Over the past year and a half, the state has rolled out several resources for homeowners thinking of building an ADU, including financing support for income-qualifying households, model designs, access to feasibility studies, and a quick look-up tool to see what is allowed on your lot.
What has passed
FY 2027 Budget
One of the most significant housing reforms passed this session were the changes to the statewide variance laws tucked into the FY 2027 state budget, signed by Governor Healey on July 9.
Variances may sound like an obscure piece of zoning law, but they can be an important tool for creating new housing. A variance allows a property owner or developer to build a project that does not fully comply with local zoning requirements. Previously, Massachusetts law imposed a very high bar for granting a variance: applicants generally had to demonstrate a substantial hardship related to the soil conditions, shape, or topography of the property, while also showing that the variance would not substantially harm the public good. Even when local officials believed a variance made sense, state law often prevented them from approving it.
The amendments to the state’s variance law took effect immediately upon the budget’s passage and make three important changes:
- Statewide variance standard: The law replaces the previous “substantial hardship” standard with a lower “practical difficulty” standard. It also allows local officials to consider the public interest in increasing housing production when evaluating a variance. These changes give Zoning Boards of Appeals significantly more flexibility to approve variances that can facilitate new housing.
- Use variances: The law explicitly allows variances for residential uses. This means a property owner or developer can seek a variance to build housing on a site where residential use is not currently permitted under local zoning, for example, on a commercially zoned property.
- Time for variances: The law doubles the initial validity period of a variance from one year to two years and allows extensions of up to two years, compared with the previous six-month extension period. This gives developers more time to secure financing, complete permitting, and begin construction after receiving a variance.
Taken together, these updates empower local officials to approve sensible projects, while giving homebuilders the necessary time and flexibility to create much-needed new homes.
Supplemental Budget
On June 28, Governor Healey signed a supplemental budget that included a sales tax exemption for materials used to construct multifamily housing. To qualify, a project must be located in a census tract where the median household income is below 120 percent of the applicable area median income or include at least 15 percent income-restricted units. This is a relatively targeted incentive, but reducing construction costs can help make marginal housing projects financially feasible, particularly as high construction costs continue to constrain new development.
What’s Still Pending
While these reforms are important, significant housing reforms remain under consideration. The biggest outstanding items are contained in the economic development bills passed by the House and Senate, with smaller reforms also pending in the environmental bond bills.
Economic Development Bill
Duplexes By-Right Statewide
The Senate’s economic development bill includes a major zoning reform that would allow duplexes by-right in residential areas where single-family homes are permitted. Under the proposal, municipalities could regulate duplexes in largely the same way they regulate single-family homes, provided that they do not impose overly restrictive dimensional requirements designed to prevent their construction. This reform addresses one of the most common barriers to building modest, neighborhood-scale housing in Massachusetts.
Nearly three-quarters of the state’s residential land already allows duplexes in some form – 38 percent by-right and another 36 percent by special permit. Yet duplexes remain a relatively small share of the state’s housing stock. The problem is the patchwork of local rules. Where a special permit is required, building a duplex can become more expensive, time-consuming, and uncertain than building a single-family home. As a result, developers often choose the latter. Legalizing duplexes by-right would be a relatively modest zoning change with significant potential to increase access to the reasonably priced homes missing from many Massachusetts communities.
Yes in God’s Backyard (YIGBY)
YIGBY policies are a type of land-use reform that allows faith-based institutions to build multifamily housing by-right on land they already own. Under the version passed by the House, faith-based institutions in Massachusetts would be able to build multifamily housing by-right on land they have owned for at least three years, provided that at least 20% of the homes are income-restricted and buildings are no more than 45 feet tall, unless local zoning already allows for greater height.
The potential for new housing on faith-owned land is significant. According to an analysis by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, more than 4,850 parcels owned by faith-based institutions in Massachusetts have the potential to support new housing. Unlocking even a portion of this land could create thousands of new homes, including income-restricted homes, without requiring municipalities to identify new land for development. Just as importantly, new development would expand the local property-tax base, generating revenue that can help municipalities fund teachers, firefighters, roads, and other essential services. YIGBY is a powerful tool for expanding Massachusetts’ housing supply, making the Commonwealth more affordable, and strengthening municipal finances. To learn more about YIGBY, visit CHAPA’s website.
Site Plan Review
Currently, the Zoning Act allows municipalities to apply site plan review to new development, but it does not define what site plan review is or establish clear parameters for how it should be conducted. As a result, municipalities have developed widely varying processes that can create unnecessary delays, uncertainty, and opportunities to obstruct housing projects.
Under both the House and Senate proposals, site plan review would be defined as a process for determining whether a proposed development complies with standards established in local zoning regulations. Both proposals also establish important guardrails to ensure that site plan review is limited to evaluating compliance with reasonable, pre-established performance standards and the requirements of the local zoning code. The primary purpose of these provisions is to bring clarity and predictability to site plan review, so that homebuilders know what will be required of them before investing significant time and resources in a project. By making the rules of the process clear upfront, we can make it easier to build the homes Massachusetts needs while allowing municipalities to enforce reasonable development standards.
Commercial to residential conversions
Both economic development bills also establish an opt-in program designed to make it easier for municipalities to convert underused commercial properties into housing. Municipalities that participate would be able to update their zoning to allow residential conversions by-right on commercially zoned lots. In exchange, participating communities would receive preference for certain state-authorized tax credits and would be required to establish their own incentives for conversion projects. The program would also include provisions to address existing buildings that do not conform to newly adopted zoning and limit parking requirements near transit. With office and commercial properties facing changing market conditions, creating a clearer pathway to residential conversion could help turn underused buildings into new homes without requiring entirely new development sites.
Tenant Opportunity to Purchase
The House and Senate also decided to include tenant opportunity to purchase (TOPA) policies in their respective economic development bills. While there are differences between the two versions, they include the core features of giving tenants the ability to purchase their building as long as they match a third-party offer and allowing tenants to partner with or designate their purchasing rights to an affordable housing developer or a public housing authority, which will then keep the units affordable. AHMA has supported TOPA the last two legislative sessions because it is a critically needed tool that will help prevent displacement and keep communities together. More information about TOPA can be found on the coalition’s website here.
Environmental Bond Bill
Housing policy is also part of the environmental bond bills currently being negotiated in a conference committee. Both chambers included provisions in their establishing “priority housing projects.” These projects are designed to encourage housing development that meets environmental and climate goals, for example, by being located on infill sites, served by existing utilities, and designed to be flood-resilient and energy-efficient. Qualifying projects would be exempt from certain environmental impact report requirements, potentially reducing the time and expense associated with permitting. The House also included a provision giving municipalities that have adopted zoning or land-use policies that encourage housing production a preference when competing for discretionary and competitive grants authorized by the bill.
What Comes Next?
With the primary elections behind us, attention now turns to the remaining bills in conference committees; lawmakers have until January 5, 2027 to finalize these bills. At Abundant Housing Massachusetts, our primary focus will be on ensuring that three critical housing reforms – legalizing duplexes statewide, enabling faith-based housing development through YIGBY, and codifying site plan review – are included in the final version of the economic development bill. We expect the conference committee’s work to pick up in earnest this month, making the coming weeks an important opportunity to push for these priorities.
None of these reforms will solve Massachusetts’ housing shortage on their own; there will always be more work to do to make housing more abundant and affordable. But together, they would remove significant barriers that make it unnecessarily difficult and expensive to build homes. Alongside other reforms, including a comprehensive TOPA program, these policies can help move Massachusetts toward a future where more people can afford to live in the communities and neighborhoods of their choice.