Lydia Edwards

The Affordable Homes Act, celebrated over the summer for its one-year anniversary, offers unprecedented authorizations in housing and nearly 50 policy initiatives to respond to the housing crisis in Massachusetts. Experts all agree that housing production must be paired with efforts to preserve our existing housing stock and policies that ensure housing stability for residents, especially for populations most at risk of displacement.

One particular amendment in the Affordable Homes Act can help thousands of renters avoid potentially life-altering expenses and displacement. The 1983 condominium conversions law has provided tenants of buildings with four or more units with protections from evictions and rent increases for decades.

A 2024 amendment to the statute, included in the Affordable Homes Act, expands the law to apply to two- and three-family buildings if there is a proposed condo conversion to a unit or building.

Expanding Protections to More Renters

Before the 2024 expansion, some municipalities had already provided similar protections by local ordinance, but now, with this amendment, many more tenants are able to access the same rights across the entire commonwealth. Housing advocates and municipalities must do their part to spread knowledge of these rights to protect vulnerable renters.

Recently, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council evaluated the profound impact of the section of the law that amended the 1983 condo conversion law. Expanding the protections to two- and three-family buildings adds more than three times as many buildings and nearly doubles the number of units covered by the original condo conversion law.

Lizzi Weyant

Using the agency’s land parcel database, MAPC found that changes made to the condo conversion law have resulted in an additional 124,400 two- and three-family buildings (287,200 homes) across Massachusetts in which tenants are now able to access protections against eviction and displacement in the event of condominium conversion.

By contrast, the 1983 law covered tenants of buildings with four or more units (45,000 buildings and 433,600 units). With the applicability to two- and three-family buildings, the total number of buildings where tenants can access these protections has risen to 169,000. Covered units have increased to about 721,000 units, which is equal to half of all multifamily housing units in Massachusetts.

Providing a Softer Landing

When a tenant loses their housing to a condo conversion, they might have to unexpectedly and quickly find three months’ worth of rent in a matter of weeks, as well as a new place to live. Given the increasing rents around the region and the state, this can threaten housing stability. The requirement to compensate tenants displaced by a condo conversion creates a softer landing for households facing the challenges of an unexpected move.

MAPC also estimated what moving costs might look like for tenants displaced by a condo conversion. Often, new tenants are required to provide the first month’s rent, last month’s rent, and a security deposit to secure a new apartment – equaling three months of rent due at signing.

Two-bedroom median rents for the Third Suffolk district, which includes part of Boston and the cities of Revere and Winthrop, suggest that an appropriate moving cost estimate in that district would be between $8,000 to $10,000, according to the agency’s rental listings database.

With these new protections in place, fewer residents may have to make an unexpected move when their unit is sold or turned into condos, and there would be opportunities for financial support if they do leave their units.

Maximizing Expanded Protections

It’s paramount that renters are aware of these expanded protections, and municipal officials need to understand how local condo conversion ordinances interact with the new law. Ensuring local regulations reflect the 2024 changes and apply to two- and three-family buildings will help protect more renters and advance housing stability.

Regional planning agencies like MAPC are ready and eager to assist municipalities implement the amendment to the condo conversion law and update or create new local regulations. Municipalities and housing advocates can collect data on recent or historical condo conversions, including the number of units converted, rental units lost, and any relevant trends that could be shared with MAPC or the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities for policy evaluation.

Cities and towns should also explore additional local regulations that further safeguard renters and address local housing trends, including: extending notice periods, extending lease lengths, increasing relocation assistance amounts, adding rent stabilization measures during the conversion process and championing the right for tenants to assign their right of first refusal.

Lydia Edwards represents the Third Suffolk District in the Massachusetts State Senate. Lizzi Weyant is the executive director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council.