The MBTA Communities Act has prompted the development of thousands of homes since its implementation began in 2023. But it’s only a tiny step toward meeting the state’s housing goals, according to a new report out Wednesday.
The state has tracked 102 planned or completed developments totaling 6,898 housing units in 34 cities and towns made possible by the law, according to the report by Boston Indicators.
That makes it one of the most effective pieces of legislation to promote the creation of new housing in decades, according to the report. But it’s still far from a perfect solution to Massachusetts’ housing crisis.
“If not for the MBTA Communities law, most of these projects would not be in the production pipeline, contributing toward (Gov. Maura) Healey administration’s statewide 10-year production goal of 220,000 homes,” according to the report. “Nonetheless, if all 6,898 units were built, they would amount to substantially less than a 1 percent increase in the nearly 2 million homes located within the 177 MBTA Communities.”
The MBTA Communities Act, passed in 2021, requires cities and towns served by the MBTA to have at least one zoning district where multifamily housing is allowed by right. Its goal is to make it easier for developers to create new housing, relieving pressure on the expensive local housing market.
Dec. 31, 2025 was the final deadline for all 177 communities that fall under the law’s purview to pass compliant zoning. And while most have, a handful have still held out.
As of Tuesday, 12 communities were still considered noncompliant by the state and face the loss of state funding opportunities as well as potential legal action.
However, even among the cities and towns that have passed compliant zoning, the level at which they have embraced the law varies widely.
While some, such as Lexington and Westford, went above and beyond the requirements of the law, others stuck to the bare minimum that the state asked of them.
Some went the way of what the report calls “paper compliance,” developing zoning that fit the technical requirements of the MBTA Communities Act while realistically allowing little to no new housing development. These towns strategically placed their zoning districts in areas that are already highly developed, under long-term leases, or otherwise would be very difficult to build on.
The report says it is not clear how many towns took the route of paper compliance. And more analysis is needed to determine what communities fall into that category.
Most of the towns that are seeing new construction are thus far only producing incremental change, the researchers wrote. Of the 102 developments in the pipeline, 19 large projects with over 100 units account for 77% of the total units in the region, while 58 projects will produce fewer than 30 homes.
In part, this is likely because there are fewer properties where large-scale development is possible, according to the report.
For example, the largest project, a 752-unit planned development in Braintree, will contribute to the town’s housing stock.
But there are no other large sites in the zoning district where large-scale projects would be possible. In Weston, where the third-largest project is expected to create 480 homes, the zoning district was designed to accommodate only that development and no other multifamily buildings in town.
The researchers emphasized that small-scale development — often known as “missing middle housing,” as the more common types of development are large multi-family buildings or single-family homes — is still badly needed to provide affordable options for the state’s residents. But it won’t be enough to meet the demand.
“For missing middle projects to aggregate into tens of thousands of needed homes, the zoning districts would have to apply to substantially more land than MBTA Communities districts encompass,” they wrote.
Because of the relatively small number of homes being built, the number of homes being built near public transit — a key goal of the law — is even smaller.
According to the report, about 30% of the homes in the pipeline are located within half a mile of a train station, typically considered the distance a person could reasonably walk. About 57% are within one mile of a station.
However, many are located near bus routes or walkable downtown centers, keeping them in line to encourage less reliance on cars.
“Construction is happening as a direct result of the MBTA Communities law, but the law’s hallmark flexibility leaves a lot of leeway for communities to embrace or sidestep the law’s housing goals,” Amy Dain, the report’s author, said in a press release.
“As a result, while MBTA Communities has been the most effective state policy in recent years to encourage multi-family housing by right, its impacts in some areas, especially near transit stations, have been relatively modest compared to the overwhelming need,” Dain said.
You can read the full report on Boston Indicators’ website.
