2026-09-10 · Massachusetts · Legislation · Pending — not yet law

Pending — voters decide on 3 November 2026. Massachusetts has nine statewide ballot questions this year, the most since 1994, and exactly one of them touches housing.

Question 7, “Legalize Starter Homes,” would permit single-family homes on any residentially zoned lot with:¹

• at least 5,000 square feet
• at least 50 feet of public street frontage
• connection to public sewer and water

84,343 signatures were certified. The campaign is led by Pioneer Institute senior housing fellow Andrew Mikula with a coalition of pro-growth groups; the Massachusetts Municipal Association testified at the hearing on it.

What else is on the ballot

Question 5 changes the Chapter 62F revenue-cap formula — fiscal, not housing. The other seven cover public records law expansion, CPCS collective bargaining, all-party primaries, Election Day registration, a conservation fund, repeal of recreational marijuana retail sales, and repeal of the 2024 firearms law.

None of the nine touches condominiums, transfer fees, rent control or insurance. The rent control question that had certified for this ballot was struck by the Supreme Judicial Court on 23 June 2026.

The HOA angle

Second-order but real: more by-right single-family subdivision on smaller lots means more new common-interest communities and more homeowners associations formed over the next decade. It does not amend c. 183A or any association statute.

1. Ballotpedia, Massachusetts limit on required lot size for single-family homes initiative (2026) ↩
2. Boston.com, the nine certified 2026 Massachusetts ballot questions ↩
3. Massachusetts Municipal Association testimony on the starter home ballot initiative ↩