America’s quilt work of states whose governors and lawmakers are bucking for housing policy change to break through supply constraints at the root of the nation’s affordability crisis now counts Massachusetts among them.
With a focus on prohibitively constrictive building codes and zoning ordinances, Gov. Maura Healey has adopted an approach officials in other states and cities have taken before pulling the legislative trigger — study the matter for a year or more before drafting a reform policy agenda.
Healey has issued an executive order that creates a technical advisory group that will conduct the study. The order seeks ways to let taller single-stair buildings proceed safely while expanding the state’s housing options.
The group has a growing range of research studies and policy models from other jurisdictions to consider. Minnesota recently completed a yearlong study that examined single-stair construction in taller buildings. The state is now considering making the change for buildings up to six stories.
Colorado, Texas, Montana and New Hampshire enacted new legislation. Los Angeles and Nashville are among the cities that made the switch.
Like other states and cities that have studied the change, Healey’s order calls for the study group to include fire safety officials, architects, housing advocates and developers.
“By bringing together technical expertise and stakeholder perspectives, this commission moves the Commonwealth one step closer to unlocking new, safe, and reasonably priced housing options at a time when our housing shortage continues to drive sky-high housing costs across (Massachusetts),” Jesse Kannon-Benanava, executive director of Abundant Housing Massachusetts, said in a statement.
Kannon-Benanava’s organization, part of the growing national “yes in my backyard” network, is in the group.
Studying what to change
Current Massachusetts building codes typically require two enclosed stairs in mid-rise residential buildings. The standard limits how many units can fit on small or oddly shaped lots.
Studies such as Minnesota’s show that carefully designed single-stair buildings could cut per-unit costs and make more infill projects financially viable.
The Massachusetts study will compare single- and multi-stair designs and recommend code changes that prioritize maintaining strong life-safety protections. The group also will examine accessibility, ventilation, smoke control and fire-service operations in potential new designs.
Addressing a housing shortage
The executive order comes as Massachusetts faces a severe housing shortage and rising costs. A state-commissioned analysis estimates Massachusetts needs to add at least 222,000 homes between 2025 and 2035. That number includes 57,200 homes to relieve homelessness, overcrowding and doubled-up households alone. In Greater Boston, officials project needing roughly 121,000 additional homes over the next decade.
Changing building codes would layer on top of other major housing measures that lawmakers and Healey have already deployed.
The 2021 Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Communities Act added a section to the state zoning code, requiring 177 MBTA communities to create at least one reasonably sized district where multifamily housing is allowed by right. Those districts must allow at least 15 units per acre and cannot restrict housing to older residents.
Where feasible, communities must place these districts within a half-mile of a subway, commuter rail, bus or ferry stop. The law pushes many eastern Massachusetts suburbs to legalize multifamily housing near transit. It links new housing capacity to transit access.
In 2024, Healey signed the Affordable Homes Act, a roughly $5.16 billion housing bond and policy bill. The law boosts funding for public housing, mixed-income rental developments and affordable homeownership programs statewide. It also expands down payment assistance and sets aside money for housing in high-cost and seasonal communities.
The Affordable Homes Act requires communities to allow accessory dwelling units by right in single-family zones. It also supports converting vacant offices and other commercial buildings into housing.
On the rental side, voters in November could decide whether the state will resurrect rent controls. The state enacted rent control in the 1970s to respond to rising rents, but phased it out in the early 1990s.
The policies did not work as intended. Many apartment owners chose to convert apartments to owner-occupied units.
Looking ahead
The Massachusetts single-stair study could become the next major lever in the state’s broader housing strategy, especially if lawmakers move quickly on its recommendations. If the commission validates taller single-stair buildings as safe and cost-effective, Beacon Hill could unlock a new wave of infill projects that complement recent zoning and funding reforms.
As more states adopt similar single-stair standards, developers could build a broader mix of multifamily housing on small urban lots. As more states adopt similar single-stair standards, developers could add a broader mix of multifamily housing on small urban lots.
Over time, that shift could build a larger body of evidence that shows when taller single-stair buildings work. That record would give fire officials more real-world data to refine safety rules. It could also make it easier for other states to follow with their own code changes.
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