Mass. House unveils $6.2 billion bill to expand affordable housing

State House Democrats are seeking to pass a $6.2 billion housing bond bill this week that includes a wide range of initiatives aimed at building more affordable housing and boosting sustainable development.

The bill is a rewrite of the $4 billion Affordable Housing Act that Gov. Maura Healey introduced in the House in October. The rewrite, released Monday, scales back Healey’s proposal for a real estate transfer fee on expensive properties but maintains an initiative to allow accessory dwelling units in some neighborhoods. It also increases funding for renovation of the state’s existing public housing.

In a statement, House Speaker Ron Mariano called the bill “the largest investment in affordable housing and housing production in Massachusetts history.”

What’s in the $6.2 billion housing bill?

The proposal, unveiled Monday, is 123 pages long and includes investments, tax breaks and changes to the zoning law.

Mariano told reporters Monday that the bill is the “beginning of a process” to address the state’s housing crisis, according to The Boston Globe.

The bill sets aside $2 billion for renovating, remodeling and rebuilding the state’s more than 40,000 existing public housing units, some $500 million more than Healey’s bill proposed. Recent reports indicate that the state’s public housing is underfunded and in disrepair.

$150 million of this money will be used to finance social housing projects integrating sustainability and decarbonization initiatives.

An additional $1 billion is proposed to be allocated to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority to expand its access to water for housing construction. This funding was not included in Healey’s original bill.

The money would also help improve the quality of drinking water in cities and towns where water is contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as forever chemicals.

$150 million is intended to help cities and towns convert commercial properties into residential housing, and $200 million would go toward housing people with special needs, including veterans, seniors and survivors of domestic violence .

$60 million is planned to help add accessibility features to homes where a person has a disability.

The proposal excludes real estate transaction fees

The new bill excludes a proposal from Healey’s document that would have allowed cities and towns to institute transaction fees of 0.5% to 2% on property sales exceeding $1 million. This money would have been dedicated to developing affordable housing and was supported by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

“It is disappointing not to see momentum for transfer fees, which are a widely popular measure that would generate needed resources dedicated to creating more and more affordable housing,” Wu said in a statement to Boston.com. “Our regional housing crisis poses the greatest threat to the Commonwealth’s economy, and we need every solution possible to make a difference. »

The initiative drew criticism from some real estate developers who said the tax would create an unstable revenue stream.

The State under pressure to meet housing demand

Healey said in October that his proposal aims to create more than 40,000 new housing units and preserve more than 27,000 existing residences. The Commonwealth must produce 200,000 housing units by 2030 to meet growing demand, Healey wrote in his proposal to the House.

Mariano said it was “difficult” to say how many housing units the House proposal would create, according to the Worldbut said in a statement that the rewritten bill is a “concerted effort” by state lawmakers to alleviate the housing crisis.

“The cost of buying a home or renting an apartment in Massachusetts is among the highest in the United States, a crisis that has made the Commonwealth less competitive with other states and has made the unrealizable American dream for many of our young people. ” Mariano said in a statement on Commonwealth is equipped for an increase. in housing production.

Healey said she had not yet read the bill as of Monday, the World reported and did not respond to a request for comment from Boston.com on the bill Monday evening.

“We have proposed a menu of options, ideas and policy initiatives to help boost production,” Healey told reporters. World reported. “That’s what it’s all about.”