Written By: Jesse Kanson-Benanav
Last Friday, Governor Maura Healey signed an executive order establishing a technical advisory group to study and advise the administration on how Massachusetts can safely allow single-stair mid-rise residential construction above three stories. This is a huge step forward in our effort to bring more reasonably priced homes to Massachusetts residents. Here’s how.
Currently Massachusetts requires two staircases for buildings above 3 stories. This rule adds cost to construction, inflates the size of buildings, and makes it very difficult to construct mid-rise residential buildings on smaller lots around the Commonwealth. Research from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies estimates that, if adopted, a code change to allow single stair residential buildings up to six stories could unlock the potential for approximately 130,000 new homes in metro Boston alone. Other cities and states around the US as well as countries in Europe and Asia allow single stair residential construction up to 6 stories (and even higher in some countries). Critically, there is also a growing body of evidence that demonstrates that single stair mid-rise buildings are just as safe – if not safer – than the large double loaded corridors buildings that become necessary for most multifamily residential construction under current building code. By updating the two staircase requirement for midrise apartment buildings, we can enable the construction of thousands of much needed new homes across the Commonwealth.
Single stair code reform has been a top policy priority for us at Abundant Housing MA over the past few years. As a member of the Governor’s Unlocking Housing Production Commission in 2024, I worked to get a single stair code change included as a recommendation in our final report. At the beginning of the current 2025-2026 legislative session, the AHMA team worked closely with our partners in the legislature, Senator John Cronin and Rep. Meghan Kilcoyne, to introduce legislation that would establish a single stair study commission similar to that created by the Governor’s executive order. Thanks to our efforts, those bills were reported favorably by the Joint Committee on Housing and sent to both Chambers’ Committees on Ways & Means.
To be clear, the Governor’s Executive Order establishes a working group to advise the administration. It does not force or mandate that the single stair code change be adopted. This is the right approach for Massachusetts – utilizing the power of the Governor’s office to bring together supporters of single stair reform into conversation with groups that may be skeptical of the reform. AHMA looks forward to serving on the commission alongside partners like NAIOP Massachusetts, Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Massachusetts (HBRAMA), Center for Building in North America and more to help make this vision a reality.
Thank you to Governor Maura Healey, Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) Secretary Ed Augustus and the policy team at EOHLC for all your work to make this happen. We are ready to get to work!