by Jenna Connolly | Sep 21, 2026 | Featured News, Housing News
In a critical victory for housing justice and affordability, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) has upheld the legality of the MBTA Communities Act and decisively dismissed the Town of Marshfield’s legal challenge. The ruling confirms once again that compliance with the state’s affordable housing law is non-negotiable and deals a decisive blow to attempts to undermine state mandates that expand access to housing.
The SJC held that the MBTA Communities Act does not violate the Home Rule Amendment of the Massachusetts Constitution and that Marshfield failed to show the Act is an unfunded mandate. This decision marks the second high-profile case in which the state’s highest court has unequivocally declared that the MBTA Communities Act is a valid exercise of the state Legislature’s power. Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA), Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR), and Nixon Peabody LLP celebrate the ruling as another landmark victory in the mission to create more affordable housing opportunities across Massachusetts.
In February, CHAPA, LCR, and Nixon Peabody filed an amicus brief with the SJC on behalf of 18 housing and civil rights organizations in defense of the MBTA Communities Act.
“Today’s decision allows communities to keep moving forward by creating more homes, stronger communities, and a thriving Commonwealth,” said Eric Shupin, Chief Executive Officer of Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA). “The Governor, the Attorney General, 168 MBTA Communities already in compliance, and the SJC have now all made clear that noncompliance is non-negotiable. CHAPA will continue to support using all the tools our state has, including the MBTA Communities Act, so everyone can find a safe, affordable home in the communities they choose. This is a victory for housing and opportunity across Massachusetts.”
Last year, a Superior Court judge issued a comprehensive decision dismissing unfunded mandate suits brought by Marshfield and other municipalities. In that opinion and the one issued today, the courts declined to follow the state auditor’s 2025 finding that the Act is an unfunded mandate.
“This decision affirms, once again, that the MBTA Communities Act is the law of the land in Massachusetts,” said Jacob Love, General Counsel for Policy at CHAPA. “We’re hopeful that today’s victory shuts the door on further legal challenges to the Act, so that the Commonwealth can continue to create the homes that Massachusetts residents need.”
“As today’s decision confirms, compliance with the MBTA Communities Act is, and always has been, mandatory,” said Jillian Lenson, Senior Attorney at Lawyers for Civil Rights. “Massachusetts’ lack of sufficient affordable housing for families is a crisis—and one that disproportionately impacts communities of color. It is well past time for all MBTA Communities to allow for critical multi-family development. This is now settled law, and compliance must continue to ensure greater access to housing.”
Signed into law in 2021, the MBTA Communities Act requires all municipalities served by the MBTA to designate an area where property owners can legally build apartments, townhomes, and other types of mid-scale multifamily housing. As of September 2026, over 10,000 new homes (with over 1,800 of them deed-restricted) have entered the pipeline in zoning districts adopted to comply with the MBTA Communities Act, providing potentially thousands of people—families, young adults, downsizing seniors, and more—with opportunities to find homes that fit their needs in Massachusetts.
###
Citizens’ Housing & Planning Association (CHAPA) is the leading statewide affordable housing policy organization in Massachusetts. Established in 1967, CHAPA advocates for increased opportunity and expanded access to housing so every person in Massachusetts can have a safe, affordable, and welcoming place to call home in the communities they choose. For more information, visit www.chapa.org.
Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) works with people of color, immigrants, and low-income communities to fight discrimination, foster equity, and pursue justice through creative and courageous legal advocacy, education, and economic empowerment. In partnership with law firms and community allies, LCR provides free, life-changing legal support to individuals, families, and small businesses. For more information, visit https://lawyersforcivilrights.org/.
Nixon Peabody LLP is an American Lawyer top-100 law firm in the United States and has offices worldwide. Our firm delivers exceptional service to our clients and our communities by combining high performance, entrepreneurial spirit, deep engagement, and an unwavering commitment to a culture of collaboration and humanity. Learn more at www.nixonpeabody.com.
by Jenna Connolly | Sep 21, 2026 | Housing News
CHAPA joins the push to legalize starter homes across Massachusetts and unlock more housing opportunities
Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) today announced its endorsement of Yes on Question 7, the November 3 statewide ballot question concerning single-family homes on smaller residential lots. Question 7 would require municipalities to allow a single-family home on a residentially zoned lot of at least 5,000 square feet with access to public water and sewer service. If enacted, the starter homes ballot initiative could result in an estimated 2,200 to 5,700 net new homes per year, providing much-needed missing middle housing for residents and young people unable to compete with market prices.
“Massachusetts needs more housing options for people at different stages of life and at different price points,” said Eric Shupin, chief executive officer of CHAPA. “Question 7 would remove one barrier to creating more homes in communities that already have residential zoning and public infrastructure. Allowing single-family homes on smaller lots will make housing more affordable and help more people become homeowners, allow seniors to downsize, college kids to return to their hometowns, and communities to become stronger.”
For CHAPA, the rare ballot initiative endorsement reflects its work to ensure everyone in Massachusetts has a safe, affordable, and welcoming place to call home in the communities they choose. The organization said that allowing additional housing types and smaller lots can complement the many strategies needed to address housing availability and affordability in the Commonwealth.
“This campaign is an urgent effort to rein in out-of-control housing costs, expand opportunities for homeownership, and better meet the housing needs of young families, downsizing seniors, and first-time buyers,” said Andrew Mikula, chair of the Legalize Starter Homes ballot committee. “We’re honored to have the support of CHAPA, which has already put in decades of valuable work helping make housing more attainable and affordable for Massachusetts residents.”
Question 7 is one of nine statewide questions appearing on the November 3, 2026, Massachusetts ballot. For more information on the Yes on 7 campaign, please visit LegalizeStarterHomes.com.
by Jenna Connolly | Sep 18, 2026 | Housing News
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has today rejected yet another challenge to the legality of the MBTA Communities Act. This decision marks the second high-profile case, following Attorney General v. Milton in early 2025, in which the state’s highest court has explicitly held that the Act is a valid exercise of the State Legislature’s power.
In dismissing the Town of Marshfield’s case, the Court made two key rulings. Most notably, it declared that the Act unequivocally does not violate the Home Rule Amendment of the Massachusetts Constitution. The Court explained that Act “addresses the Commonwealth’s housing crisis” which is a subject that “falls squarely within the Legislature’s retained authority under the Home Rule Amendment.”
Second, the Court held that Marshfield failed to present any facts at all supporting its claim that the Act constitutes an unfunded mandate. In making that point, the Court emphasized that the State Auditor’s 2025 opinion, which found that the Act is an unfunded mandate, was immaterial because it “did not identify any municipality-specific mandatory costs” imposed by the Act “much less any costs imposed on Marshfield.”
Ultimately, today’s ruling once again affirms that the MBTA Communities Act is the law of the land in Massachusetts. The Act thus remains a binding mandate for covered cities and towns to help address our affordable housing shortage by zoning for multi-family housing.
by Matt Noyes | Aug 20, 2026 | Housing News
On Thursday, CHAPA submitted a letter to the six members of the 2026 Economic Development Bill Conference Committee, outlining top housing priorities in the legislation. This bill includes several policy and funding opportunities to address Massachusetts’ housing challenges, including:
- Yes In God’s Back Yard (YIGBY)
- Duplexes As-Of-Right
- Codification of Site Plan Review
- Incentives for Commercial to Residential conversions
- Funding for first-time homeownership development
Conference committee members have until January to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of the legislation.
by Jacob Love | Aug 18, 2026 | Featured News, Housing News
The Massachusetts House and Senate have now passed separate versions of the 2026 Economic Development Bill, sending those versions to a Conference Committee that will negotiate a single, final Bill.
Each version of the Bill currently before the Conference Committee includes a different set of housing provisions. To help legislators, advocates, and the public parse the housing policies under consideration at this stage, CHAPA has prepared a side-by-side comparison chart with summaries of the housing items contained in each version of the Bill:
by Jordan Stocker | Aug 4, 2026 | Housing News
The Massachusetts House and Senate have each now passed their own version of the 2026 Economic Development Bill, sending it to a conference committee that will negotiate a single, final version. With formal sessions wrapping up this month, this is one of the last vehicles left this year that can move meaningful housing policy across the finish line.
Both versions carry a substantial set of measures aimed at growing the state’s housing supply. CHAPA thanks the leadership in both branches for keeping housing front and center as this bill took shape.
Conference Committee
The House and Senate have named the conferees who will negotiate the final bill:
House
- Rep. Aaron Michlewitz
- Rep. Carole Fiola
- Rep. Michael Soter
Senate
- Sen. Barry Finegold
- Sen. Michael Rodrigues
- Sen. Peter Durant
Some of CHAPA’s top housing priorities passed in only one chamber’s bill, which means the conference committee will decide whether they become law. CHAPA is urging the conferees to include these three priority policies in the final bill:
Yes In God’s Back Yard (YIGBY) – In the House bill – The House bill lets religious institutions build multifamily housing as-of-right on land they already own, without the special permits or discretionary approvals that local zoning so often requires. Development must include meaningful affordability — at least 20 percent of the units reserved for households earning no more than 80 percent of area median income — and projects near transit are freed from parking mandates. Faith communities across Massachusetts hold significant amounts of underused land, and this policy would help turn it into homes.
Duplexes as-of-right – In the Senate bill – The Senate bill makes two-family homes allowed as-of-right in every residentially-zoned district in the state. By legalizing this modest, naturally more affordable housing type everywhere — rather than leaving it to a project-by-project approval fight — the policy has the potential to create thousands of new homes and give more families an attainable option in more communities.
Site plan review – In both bills – Both bills establish a single statewide framework for site plan review, replacing the town-by-town patchwork that makes permitting slow and unpredictable today. The framework keeps local oversight while making reviews objective and time-limited: reasonably definite standards, a 90-day decision deadline for as-of-right projects, and automatic approval if a community fails to act in time. Because both chambers included it, this reform is well positioned for the final bill.
Take Action
Contact your legislators TODAY using this form from the Action Network and ask them to urge the conference committee to include CHAPA’s priority housing policies in the final Economic Development Bill, especially YIGBY, duplexes, and site plan review.
As the conference committee does its work, CHAPA will keep advocating for these housing provisions to be included in the final economic development bill that reaches the Governor’s desk.
