by Matt Noyes | Jun 11, 2025 | Housing News
With the Senate completing its work on the FY2026 state budget last month, a House-Senate Conference Committee is now working to resolve differences between the two versions of the funding documents. CHAPA has submitted a letter to the six members of the committee, urging them to support the highest possible funding levels for key housing programs.
The new state fiscal year begins on July 1, 2025, so for there to be an on-time budget in place, the Conference Committee will need to complete its work and both branches will need to pass the final budget by June 20 to give the Governor ten days to sign or return items with vetoes.
by Will Rhatigan | Jun 6, 2025 | Featured News, Housing News
June 6, 2025 — Today, in yet another victory for the MBTA Communities Act (the “Act”), a Massachusetts Superior Court judge decisively ruled that the Act “does not constitute an unfunded mandate.” In doing so, the Court squarely rejected the State Auditor’s contrary opinion issued earlier this year and dismissed a series of municipal lawsuits citing that opinion. Those suits were always a hail mary—as Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (“CHAPA”) argued in an amicus brief filed by Lawyers for Civil Rights (“LCR”)—and the latest Court ruling slams the door shut on their arguments. Most importantly, the decision re-affirms that all MBTA Communities must do their part to alleviate Massachusetts’ affordable housing shortage by allowing multi-family housing to be built more freely.
CHAPA and LCR celebrate this ruling as a major victory in the mission to create multi-family and reasonably-priced housing opportunities across Massachusetts, and applaud Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s steadfast defense of the Act in these lawsuits and others.
“CHAPA is thrilled that the courts have once again affirmed that the MBTA Communities Act is the law and that communities must comply,” said Rachel Heller, Chief Executive Officer of CHAPA. “Sky-high housing costs are hurting people and our neighborhoods and threaten the health of our economy. Today’s decision makes it clear that every community needs to be part of the solution.”
Although the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that the Act is constitutional and enforceable in Attorney General vs. Town of Milton this January, several communities recently filed lawsuits seeking exemptions from the Act in response to a determination from the State Auditor’s Division of Local Mandates (DLM) that the Act could be an unfunded mandate. Those towns include Duxbury, Hamilton, Hanson, Holden, Marshfield, Middleton, Wenham, Weston, and Wrentham.
As CHAPA and LCR expected, the Court soundly rejected these suits, concluding instead that DLM’s determination was flawed and legally non-binding, and that the Act does not impose any unfunded costs on communities. The court further agreed with our organizations that updating zoning codes and holding town meetings are regular functions of municipal government, meaning that the law’s requirement to adopt multifamily zoning districts does not create additional costs.
The court also rejected all claims that multifamily zoning districts impose infrastructure costs upon communities, concluding that any connection between multifamily zoning and increased costs for services and infrastructure is purely speculative.
“Today’s ruling is a great victory for all Massachusetts residents, but particularly the communities of color and low-income individuals hardest hit by the affordable housing crisis,” said Jacob Love, Senior Attorney at LCR. “Increasing multi-family housing stock is critical to advancing fair housing in the Commonwealth and this decision preserves one of the most important tools we have in the fight for housing equity.”
Like the courts, the majority of MBTA communities have rejected the argument that multi-family homes impose unfair costs. As of May 30th, 75 percent of MBTA Communities have embraced the opportunity to provide more reasonably-priced homes for their residents and adopted multifamily zoning districts intended for compliance with the Act.
CHAPA and LCR are gratified that the courts not only continue to endorse our legal arguments, but also reject all efforts to undermine the Act. While this law is only the first of many steps needed to make homes affordable for everyone in Massachusetts, defending it is crucial to setting the stage for all the other work we intend to do together to build more reasonably-priced homes.
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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, healthy, and affordable place to call home in the communities they choose, free from discrimination. For more information, visit www.chapa.org.
Lawyers for Civil Rights fights discrimination and fosters equity through creative and courageous legal advocacy, education, and economic empowerment. With law firms and community allies, we provide free, life-changing legal support to individuals, families, and small businesses. www.lawyersforcivilrights.org
by Jordan Stocker | May 27, 2025 | Featured News, Housing News, Uncategorized
The Massachusetts Senate passed its $57.9 billion FY2026 budget last week, adding $43.5 million through more than 300 adopted amendments. The budget includes important progress on housing priorities, with investments in emergency rental assistance, first-generation homeownership, and fair housing enforcement. However, several high-priority programs included in the House received lower funding or were not included in the Senate version.
As the budget moves to Conference Committee, advocates are urging lawmakers to adopt the strongest funding and policy provisions from both chambers to meet the scale of the Commonwealth’s housing needs.
Senate Budget Additions (Based on SWM Amendment/Section Numbers)
- Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) – Line Item 7004-9316
$225 million
Maintains the Senate’s higher funding level and adopts Amendment 557, which directs the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) to develop a statewide homelessness prevention strategy and evaluate the removal of barriers to programs like RAFT, including the potential elimination of the “notice to quit” requirement.
- Saving Toward Affordable and Sustainable Homeownership (STASH) – Line Item 7006-0011
$500,000 (via Amendment 19)
Adds targeted funding for first-generation homebuyers through the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance, supporting matched savings accounts and homeownership education.
- Housing Consumer Education Centers (HCECs) – Line Item 7004-3036
$5.7 million (via Amendment 428)
Restores some of the funding for regional housing counseling and tenant assistance services after earlier cuts, though funding remains below the prior-year level of $8.97 million.
- Housing Assistance for Reentry Transition – Line Item 7004-9034
$3.12 million (via Amendment 848)
Supports stable housing for individuals returning from incarceration. Amendment language ensures carry-forward of unspent funds to sustain services.
- Department of Mental Health Rental Subsidy Program – Line Item 7004-9033 (via Amendment 130)
This amendment proposed increasing funding for rental subsidies for Department of Mental Health (DMH) clients by $500,000, from $16,548,125 to $17,048,125, to better meet the housing needs of individuals with mental health challenges. The amendment was not adopted.
- Massachusetts Fair Housing Center and Southcoast Fair Housing – Line Item 7004-0099 and 7004-0107 (earmark via Amendment 10)
$275,000
Includes $200,000 for the Massachusetts Fair Housing Center and $75,000 for SouthCoast Fair Housing to support fair housing enforcement and outreach in Western Massachusetts and the South Coast following the loss of federal funding.
- Public Housing Operating Subsidies – Line Item 7004-9005
$116 million
Senate funding exceeds the House’s $115.6 million by $400,000, helping local housing authorities maintain operations and address quality and safety needs.
- Senate Broker Fee Language – Outside Sections 31 and 38
Clarifies that broker fees must be paid by the party who hires the broker. Ensures tenants aren’t charged for services they didn’t request, offering stronger protections than the House version, which permits fees with written disclosure even when the broker was hired by the landlord.
Key Priorities For Further Advocacy
- Office of Fair Housing and Fair Housing Trust – Line Item 7004-0099 (Amendment 171)
Proposed $5 million to launch the new Office, fund the Fair Housing Trust, and support U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-aligned fair housing efforts. The amendment was not adopted.
- Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) Administration – Line Item 7004-0099 (Amendment 20)
Amendment ECO 20 proposed increasing funding for the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities from $15,573,388 to $22,235,340 to strengthen the agency’s administrative capacity. The amendment was not adopted.
- Small Properties Acquisition Fund – New Line Item (Amendment 89)
Proposed $1 million to help nonprofit organizations acquire and preserve small multifamily homes. The amendment was withdrawn.
- Healthy Homes Program – New Line Item
A proposed $5 million line item to address mold, lead, and other housing-related health risks was withdrawn and not included.
- Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) – Line Item 7004-9024
Funded at $253.3 million in the Senate—$4.8 million less than the House’s $258.1 million level.
- Tenancy Preservation Program (TPP) – Line Item 7004-3045
TPP received no funding in either budget. Amendment ECO 105 proposed $42,755 to retain a dedicated line item, but it was not adopted. The program will be supported this year through MassHousing funding.
- Access to Counsel – Line Item 0321-1800
Not funded in the Senate budget. The House includes $3 million to provide legal representation for tenants facing eviction, a key strategy for homelessness prevention.
What’s Next
The FY2026 budget now goes to a Conference Committee, a group of House and Senate lawmakers responsible for reconciling the two versions into a final budget.
Housing advocates are urging the committee to adopt the strongest funding levels and policy provisions from both chambers to address housing needs across Massachusetts. CHAPA will be drafting a letter to conferees to ensure that each housing program receives the necessary funding and support to promote stability, affordability, and equity statewide.
Please see an updated version of our budget tracker here.
by Jordan Stocker | May 21, 2025 | Housing News
Earlier this month, The Boston Foundation and the MassINC Polling Group released Voices of Experience: What Works, What Frustrates, and What to Do to Strengthen the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program. The report draws on surveys, interviews, and focus groups with MRVP tenants and landlords across Massachusetts. It was developed in partnership with United Way of Massachusetts Bay, CHAPA, Metro Housing|Boston, the Regional Housing Network, BAMSI, and La Colaborativa, with support from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC).
The report confirms that the MRVP plays a vital role in promoting housing stability, supporting employment, and ensuring consistent rental income for landlords. At the same time, it identifies opportunities to improve the program’s effectiveness by addressing administrative challenges. Participants and landlords noted areas where clearer communication, more timely processing, and better access to support could make a meaningful difference. While many participants benefit from the program, some continue to face difficulty affording their rent share or achieving long-term financial security. The report recommends building on MRVP’s strengths by codifying and expanding the program, improving agency responsiveness, enhancing outreach and education efforts, and removing barriers to economic mobility for participants.
Read the full report here
by Matt Noyes | May 15, 2025 | Housing News
Next week, the Massachusetts Senate will debate the FY2026 state budget. Among the 1058 amendments filed to the Senate Ways and Means proposal last week were several proposals that would roll back, weaken, or delay Chapter 3A – the MBTA Communities Act.
Massachusetts needs 222,000 homes by 2035 to stabilize our rental and homeownership markets. The MBTA Communities Act, passed by the Legislature in 2020 and signed into law in 2021, directs 177 cities and towns to establish multi-family zoning districts in their municipalities. To date, 131 of these communities have submitted compliance proposals to EOHLC, with many more on track to do so.
The MBTA Communities Act is a success. The multi-family zoning districts established through this law will make it possible to create many of the homes we need for Massachusetts to thrive.
The proposals to undermine this success are misguided and will only serve to set the Commonwealth back in its efforts to address our housing needs. In many cases, these are not new amendments – similar, if not identical, proposals have been made and overwhelmingly rejected during the process of developing the Affordable Homes Act, the FY2025 budget, and in the House during its FY2026 budget debate last month.
CHAPA urges the Senate to reject these amendments. If you are able, please contact your state senator and aske them to oppose these proposals:
#12 – Places New Requirements on Cities and Towns to Report on MBTA Communities Act Impact to EOHLC. This reporting would require an analysis of the impacts of housing construction on local infrastructure and schools – information that is not readily available and would be difficult to produce. If passed, this amendment would place a significant strain on scarce municipal resources without a clear benefit.
#13, #140, & #147 – Adds Unnecessary Appeal Criteria to MBTA Communities Act based on factors that are outside the scope of the law, including the availability of water, sewer, and wastewater treatment. The MBTA Communities Act does not require cities and towns to provide these sorts of infrastructure. If passed, these amendments would only delay and complicate the implementation of the law without providing a benefit to municipalities.
#141 & #296 – Narrows Definition of “MBTA Community” to exempt all communities without a rail, subway, or ferry station within its municipality from compliance with the MBTA Communities Act. If passed, it would significantly limit the number of new homes that could be permitted through the law and ignore the good-faith efforts made by nearly four dozen adjacent communities and small towns to comply with the MBTA Communities Act.
#274 & #834 – Limits the Use of Grant Funding to Encourage Compliance with MBTA Communities Act by allowing communities that choose not to do their part to address the Commonwealth’s housing challenges to avoid consequences established by the law, ignoring the good-faith efforts made by 131 communities in choosing to comply.
#297 – Delays Implementation of the MBTA Communities Act by changing the deadlines for municipal compliance. Massachusetts has faced significant housing challenges for years and cannot afford to wait any longer to address them. Given the acuity of our housing challenges, the 131 communities that have met their compliance deadlines and adopted compliant zoning, the extensive engagement and technical assistance provided to cities and towns, and the length of time needed to create the homes we need, this amendment is not only unnecessary but is harmful.
#298 – Exempts Municipalities from Compliance with MBTA Communities Law without Meeting Requirements based on factors outside of the scope of the law, including compliance with 40B and the granting of water withdrawal permits. The law is not about what is on the land now – it is about what will be allowed to be built in the future. To produce homes that people, our communities, and the Commonwealth need, local zoning needs to allow for it.
#839 – Creates A Single-Municipality Exception from MBTA Communities Law Classifications by altering the MBTA Communities Law for the benefit of one community. In creating this carve-out, the amendment goes against the broad stakeholder engagement and public comment process that informed the Law’s implementation and would be unfair to the 176 other communities subject to the Law.
by Jordan Stocker | May 12, 2025 | Featured News, Housing News
Last week, the Senate Ways and Means Committee released its budget proposal for the upcoming state fiscal year. At a time of fiscal challenges and federal government uncertainty, we are grateful that housing programs were largely protected, and in some cases received increased funding.
Still, there is a great deal of work to do in advance of the full Senate taking up the budget later this month. Senators have offered more than 1,000 amendments that will be considered, including many related to housing.
Below, please find a list of CHAPA priority amendments. Now is the time to contact your state senator and ask them to cosponsor and support these proposals that will help make it possible for Massachusetts to create the homes we need to thrive
#150 – Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) (Sen. Lovely)
Increases funding to $270 million for approximately 800 new vouchers and sets the administrative fee at $55 per month to reflect current policy.
#457 – MRVP Sustainability (Sen. Collins)
Sets the administrative fee for MRVP at $55 per month to reflect current policy.
#848 – Housing Assistance for Re-Entry Transition (Sen. Gomez)
Increases funding to $4.12 million for housing assistance for individuals exiting incarceration, which will provide approximately 250 vouchers.
#130 – Department of Mental Health (DMH) Rental Subsidy Program (Sen. Eldridge)
Increases the allocation to $21.548 million to fund 300 new vouchers for housing people experiencing homelessness and disabling mental health conditions.
#557 – Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) (Sen. Gomez)
Improves RAFT by eliminating the requirement for a notice to quit or utility shutoff to access benefits to allow for more upstream access to benefits.
#90 – HomeBASE (Sen. Jehlen)
Increases funding for HomeBASE to $64.8 million, improves upstream access to benefits, and increases the grant limit per family to $50,000 for the first two years and $25,000 subsequently.
#19 – Saving Toward Affordable and Sustainable Homeownership (STASH) (Sen. Miranda)
Provides $1.5 million for STASH to support more than 70 first-generation homebuyers through matched savings.
#171 – Maintaining Fair Housing (Sen. Edwards)
Supports fair housing in Massachusetts by directing $2 million for the operation of the Office of Fair Housing, $1 million for the Fair Housing Trust, and $2 million for organizations participating in fair housing activities.
#10 and #218 – Fair Housing Centers (Sens. Eldridge and Montigny)
Provides $200,000 for the Massachusetts Fair Housing Center and $75,000 for the South Coast Fair Housing Center to support the vital work of addressing housing discrimination.
Program Administrative Line
#20 – EOHLC Administration (Sen. Cyr)
The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) distributes funding to municipalities, oversees the state-aided public housing portfolio, provides funding for affordable housing production and preservation, and operates the state’s Emergency Assistance family shelter program. EOHLC is responsible for implementing dozens of new housing policies approved by the Legislature through the Affordable Homes Act. This amendment adds $6.6 million to EOHLC’s administrative line for sufficient staffing to carry out their responsibilities so that Massachusetts is affordable for people across income levels.
#428 – Housing Consumer Education Centers (HCECs) (Sen. Gomez)
Restores proposed cuts to HCECs with funding of $8.974 million to provide critical support for people experiencing a range of housing challenges.
#50 – Healthy Homes Program (Sen. Keenan)
Provides $5 million to address issues such as mold, lead, and asbestos to keep people in their homes and improve the quality of aged housing stock.
#105 – Tenancy Preservation Program (TPP) (Sen. R. Kennedy)
Provides $42,755 to support TPP and to preserve the line item.
#15 – First-Time Homebuyer and Foreclosure Prevention (Sen. Eldridge)
Restores funding to $3.05 million to support homebuyer education and support to keep people in their homes when experiencing housing challenges.
Homelessness and Supportive Housing
#222 – Unaccompanied Homeless Youth (Sen. Miranda)
Increases funding to $12 million for housing and services for youth experiencing homelessness.
Preservation and Development
#89 – Small Properties Acquisition Fund (SPAF) (Sen. Jehlen)
Appropriates $1 million to the SPAF to purchase and rehabilitate existing 1-8 unit affordable housing and to keep it affordable.
#249 – Unlocking Housing Production (Sen. Cyr)
Provides funding to support increased building inspection capacity for modular development, establishes an Office of State Planning to better inform statewide and municipal development, and directs EOHLC to study the efficacy of a housing construction sales tax exemption program and a local option property tax exemption for new affordable housing developments.
