To address the housing crisis in every community in the Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Senate passed the Affordable Homes Act on June 27, 2024. This broad legislation aims to increase the availability of affordable housing across the state, ensuring that more residents have access to safe and affordable homes. Here’s an overview of what this landmark act entails and its potential impact on Massachusetts communities.
The Affordable Homes Act introduces several critical measures designed to expand affordable housing options:
Creating and Repairing Public Housing:
The Senate Affordable Homes Act provides $2.2 billion for repairs, rehabilitation, and renovation across the 43,000 units of state-aided public housing. This significant investment ensures that the state's public housing infrastructure remains safe, modern, and sustainable, so it can continue providing quality living conditions for thousands of families.
To ensure that the Commonwealth makes strides towards its climate goals as it creates housing, $150 million of the funding for public housing is specifically allocated to making energy efficient upgrades.
Spurring Affordable Housing Units:
A further $425 million will go to the Housing Stabilization and Investment Trust fund, working with municipalities, non-profits, and developers to support housing preservation, new construction, and rehabilitation projects for affordable rental units. This will help the longevity and sustainability of affordable housing stock, addressing both immediate needs and long-term housing solutions.
It additionally adds $800 million into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to create and preserve housing for households with an income at or below 110% of area median income, helping to bridge the gap between the high cost of housing and what many families can afford.
Building Sustainably:
This bond bill includes $275 million for innovative, sustainable, and green housing initiatives. By finding new ways to build that don’t have such a detrimental environmental impact, these initiatives will help pave the way for a greener housing portfolio in Massachusetts and will be an important part of the state’s response to the climate crisis.
Supporting First-Time Homebuyers in Gateway Cities:
The Senate Affordable Homes Act authorizes $200 million for the CommonWealth Builder program to further the production of housing in gateway cities for first-time homebuyers. This initiative supports economic development in these cities, helping families achieve homeownership and contributing to the revitalization of urban areas.
The legislation also includes $50 million for MassDreams, a program that provides down payment and closing cost grants to first-time homebuyers who meet the program's eligibility criteria and who currently live in one of the 29 communities that were disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Maintaining Essential Infrastructure:
The bill provides $375 million for HousingWorks, a program that awards grants to municipalities and other public entities for a variety of infrastructure-related support. Improving essential infrastructure supports the health and safety of residents and the feasibility of new housing projects.
Of this amount, $100 million will be dedicated to addressing water, sewer, and septic challenges tied to housing developments, and $100 million will help incentivize best practices in communities that have adopted the Community Preservation Act (CPA) and are spending a high percentage of those funds on housing, as well as MBTA communities that are going beyond the minimum requirements set forth in the MBTA zoning law passed in 2021. Communities that have been proactive in creating transit-oriented development, which reduces traffic congestion and promotes sustainable urban growth, will be eligible.
Addressing Regional Equity:
The legislation includes $150 million in dedicated funds to address the unique housing needs of rural towns, seasonal communities, and mid-sized communities. This ensures that all areas of the state, regardless of size or location, have the resources to meet their specific housing challenges.
The Senate’s Affordable Homes Act also contains multiple policy proposals to go hand in hand with the new authorizations.
Protecting Tenants from Broker Fees:
By requiring that real estate brokers’ fees be paid solely by the party that contracted with them, this legislation ensures that buyers are not burdened with unexpected and extraordinary costs. It also promotes transparency and fairness in real estate transactions.
Establishing Equity-Focused Housing Offices:
The Office of Fair Housing and the Office of Livable Communities and Community Services will be established under the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. These offices will set the Commonwealth on a path to address many decades of housing discrimination by prioritizing equity issues in housing across the Commonwealth, ensuring equal access to housing opportunities for all residents, and offering technical assistance to cities and towns that can sometimes lack dedicated housing staff.
Eviction Record Sealing:
The bill introduces a process for tenants to seal their eviction records in cases of no-fault evictions and other limited scenarios. This policy protects vulnerable tenants from the long-term stigma of eviction records, enhancing their ability to secure future housing and promoting housing stability.
Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs):
The legislation prohibits the banning or unreasonable restriction of ADUs in single-family residential zones, promoting flexible housing options. This policy enables homeowners to create additional living spaces, increases housing supply and provides more affordable rental options within established neighborhoods.
Homeownership Tax Credit:
This new tax credit will be available for the production of homeownership units for households that make up to 120 per cent of the area median income,incentivizing housing production and promoting homeownership opportunities.
Elderly Community:
This bill allocates $200M for a program to demonstrate cost effective revitalization methods for state-aided family and elderly-disabled public housing that seek to reduce the need for future state modernization funding and $200M to support innovative and alternative forms of rental housing including single person occupancy units, transitional and permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness, housing for seniors and veterans, and transitional units for persons recovering from substance use disorder. In addition, it creates a commission to recommend policy, programs, financial and other investments to expand the supply of sustainable, broadly affordable supportive senior housing.
Commission to decrease barriers and increase equitable practices in addressing the housing crisis:
The commission shall examine potential changes to the state building code for accessibility features in housing that benefit persons with disabilities, including, but not limited to: (i) changes for individuals with physical, sensory, intellectual, mental health and neurodivergent disabilities; (ii) the estimated the costs of such potential changes; and (iii) the impact of climate change on housing for people with disabilities.
The passage of the Affordable Homes Act will have a profound impact on communities across Massachusetts. By increasing the availability of affordable housing, the Act aims to address the housing affordability crisis that has plagued the state for years. From reducing homelessness to providing economic stability to increasing community diversity, I am proud of the good work the Affordable Homes Act will do.
For the First Worcester district, this means:
$2M for the City of Worcester Housing Lead Abatement
$2M for the City of Worcester Affordable Housing Preservation Program
$500,000 for Worcester Common Ground
$2.5M for Beacon Brightly & University Park Development Project
The Affordable Homes Act is a crucial step towards solving the housing crisis in Massachusetts. As we begin to implement the provisions of this Act, collaboration between government entities, developers, and community organizations will be essential to ensure its success.
This historic legislation underscores the commitment to prioritizing affordable housing and the well-being of our residents. The passage of the Affordable Homes Act is not just a win for those in need of affordable housing, but for the entire state, as it moves towards a future where everyone has a place to call home.
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For media questions, please contact: Giselle Rivera-Flores, Director of Communications at giselle.riveraflores@masenate.gov
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