Massachusetts Comprehensive Permit Act: Chapter 40B

The Comprehensive Permit Act is a Massachusetts law which allows developers of affordable housing to override certain aspects of municipal zoning bylaws and other requirements. It consists of Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L.) Chapter 40B, Sections 20 through 23, along with associated regulations issued and administered by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development. Chapter 40B was enacted in 1969 to address the shortage of affordable housing statewide by reducing barriers created by local municipal building permit approval processes, local zoning, and other restrictions. Its goal is to encourage the production of affordable housing in all communities throughout the Commonwealth.

For the purposes of this statute, affordable housing is defined as a unit which could be purchased or rented by a household making up to 80% of the median income of the area. Such housing must be subject to affordable housing restrictions to preserve affordability in the long term.

Under Chapter 40B, in any municipality where less than 10% of its housing qualifies as affordable under the law, a developer can build more densely than the municipal zoning bylaws would permit, allowing more units per acre of land when building a new development, if at least 25% (or 20% in certain cases) of the new units have long-term affordability restrictions.

Chapter 40B continues to be controversial and it has not overcome the multiple barriers that exist to building affordable housing in the state. A study by the National Low Income Housing Coalition rated Massachusetts as being the least affordable state in which to rent an apartment in 2003. Despite the law, fewer new affordable housing units are built in Massachusetts compared to the state's needs. The state government as a policy works toward increasing the supply of inexpensive housing. The shortage contributes to sprawl as workers move further away from jobs in order obtain affordably priced houses. The high price of housing is one reason that young adults move away from Massachusetts.

Municipalities have occasionally attempted to gain "affordable" classification for existing inexpensive housing units which are not deed restricted to maintain the long-term future affordable status of the units. Some municipalities have requested that mobile homes be allowed. As of April 2016^[update], state legislators are currently considering making this change.

The goal of the Affordable Housing Law (Chapter 40B) is to make at least 10% of every Massachusetts’s community’s housing stock affordable for moderate income households. As of June 30, 2011, 39 communities had met that goal. Details are available on the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) Subsidized Housing Inventory. In addition, 101 communities have developed Affordable Housing Production Plans that have been approved by DHCD. Six of those communities have been certified as meeting the benchmarks in their plans, which entitles them to “safe-harbor” protections from Chapter 40B proposals under 760 CMR 56.03()(b) and 56.03(4)(f).

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