2026-09-10 · Massachusetts · Legislation · Did not pass

What happened. A bill addressing one of the least-discussed problems in Massachusetts condominium ownership was disposed of by study order S.2765 on 4 December 2025, alongside 18 other Senate housing bills.¹

S.985, An Act relative to 40B condominium units, was filed by Senator Ryan C. Fattman, referred to the Joint Committee on Housing on 27 February 2025, and heard at the committee's condominium hearing on 4 June 2025.

The problem it addressed

A deed-restricted affordable unit created under the Chapter 40B comprehensive permit law, sitting inside a market-rate condominium, is caught in a structural squeeze:

• The resale price is capped by the affordability restriction
• The common expense assessment is not

The 40B owner pays the same monthly fee and the same special assessments as a market-rate neighbour in an identical unit — because c. 183A allocates common expenses by percentage of undivided interest, and the percentage interest does not know that one owner's resale value is capped.

What the bill would have done

Established an expense reimbursement programme for 40B condominium units. The reimbursement amount, funding source and administering agency could not be retrieved from the bill page and are unverified.

1. S.985, An Act relative to 40B condominium units — bill page ↩
2. Order S.2765, Joint Committee on Housing study order, 4 December 2025 ↩
3. M.G.L. c. 183A §6, common expenses assessed by percentage of undivided interest ↩