2026-09-10 · Massachusetts · Legislation

What happened. The single most consequential change to Massachusetts condominium conversion law in thirty years is four words long, sits in section 57 of a 143-section housing act, and has been in force since 6 August 2024.

Section 57 of Chapter 150 of the Acts of 2024 — the Affordable Homes Act — amends the definition of “Housing accommodation” in section 3 of the Condominium Conversion Act, Chapter 527 of the Acts of 1983, by striking the word “buildings” the first time it appears in clause (iii) and inserting “owner-occupied buildings.”¹

What that does

The conversion statute exempts small buildings. After the amendment, that exemption runs only to owner-occupied small buildings.

The consequence: a non-owner-occupied building with fewer than four units — the classic Massachusetts two- or three-decker held as an investment — is now a “housing accommodation” covered by the conversion statute, with all of the tenant notice and purchase-right machinery that follows.

The scale

The Metropolitan Area Planning Council estimates the amendment brings 124,400 two- and three-family buildings, containing about 287,200 homes, into coverage — taking the total covered stock from roughly 45,000 buildings to about 169,000.²

That is close to a quadrupling of the statute's reach, accomplished without amending a single operative provision of it.

What coverage means

For a tenant in a covered building facing conversion:

• Minimum notice before a conversion eviction of one year
• Extended to two years for tenants aged 62 or older, households below 80 percent of area median income, and people with disabilities

Stricter local ordinances exist in several Massachusetts cities and operate separately from and on top of the state act.

1. Chapter 150 of the Acts of 2024, section 57 (amendment to the Condominium Conversion Act) ↩
2. MAPC, 2024 change to condo conversion law doubles number of protected rental homes ↩
3. City of Boston, Condominium and Cooperative Conversion Ordinance ↩