U.S. Senate Advances Housing Legislation; State Releases Draft Surplus Land Regulations to Advance Housing; Legislature Holds Hearing on Rent Control Ballot Question

NAIOP's 2026 Advocacy Alerts are generously supported by Issues Management Group and Pierce Atwood, LLP.

U.S. Senate Advances Bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act

Last week, the U.S. Senate passed the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act on Thursday in an 89-10 vote, advancing one of the most significant federal housing packages in years and setting up the next phase of negotiations with the House.

The Senate-passed bill preserves much of the prior ROAD to Housing bill’s framework and includes several provisions intended to boost housing supply. Additionally, the package would streamline project reviews, raise FHA multifamily loan limits, support manufactured housing, and encourage additional housing development in designated Opportunity Zones.

However, the final Senate text includes Section 901, which has a seven-year forced disposition requirement that would require owners to sell build-to-rent (BTR) homes they develop to another private party or pay an onerous penalty.

As a member of Up for Growth, a national, cross-sector member network committed to solving the housing shortage and affordability crisis through data-driven research and evidence-based policy, NAIOP Massachusetts signed onto a letter strongly opposing the advancement of Section 901. NAIOP Corporate is actively advocating against the inclusion of these provisions as the legislation continues to move through Congress.

EOHLC Releases Surplus Land Draft Regulations

On Friday, March 13, the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) released draft regulations meant to establish a framework to guide municipalities and developers in the residential development of surplus state-owned property.

This framework is required by the 2024 Affordable Homes Act, which created a streamlined process for the disposition of state surplus land for housing purposes through the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM), in consultation with EOHLC. The legislation also requires municipalities to allow residential development on property conveyed by DCAMM as of right and authorizes EOHLC to promulgate regulations further detailing how municipalities may reasonably regulate parcels disposed through that process.

NAIOP members are strongly encouraged to review these draft regulations and submit all comments to NAIOP's Senior Vice President of Policy and Public Affairs, Anastasia Daou, no later than April 3. Public comment will remain open until April 13, 2026.

Legislature Holds Hearing on Rent Control Ballot Question

On March 17, there was a legislative hearing before the Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions focused on the rent control ballot question. As a reminder, the Legislature is required to hold a public hearing on all ballot questions that received signature certification from the Secretary of State. Once the hearing is complete, the legislature produces a report that will be placed in the MA Voter Guide that is mailed to every voter in the fall.

The hearing included expert testimony, panels from supporters and opponents of the ballot question, and public testimony.

Housing for Massachusetts (HFM) has worked over the past several weeks to coordinate a diverse opponent panel that highlights the broad range of stakeholders concerned about the proposal. Together, the HFM panel included perspectives from labor, small property owners, municipal leadership, business organizations, economists and housing providers.

In addition, ahead of the hearing, NAIOP submitted comments in strong opposition to the advancement of the question.

As a reminder, there are very limited options for the Legislature to engage on this issue beyond the MA Voter Guide report given it is a Ballot Question not a bill.

• Adopt the measure outright — the Legislature can pass the substance of the initiative into law themselves, preventing it from appearing on the ballot.

• Decline to act — If the Legislature takes no action (which is most common), the measure then proceeds to the ballot for voters to decide.

• Propose an alternative — the Legislature can advance a competing version of the measure to appear alongside the original on the ballot. It is important to note that while this power has been noted by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, there is no well-documented instance in Massachusetts history where this has occurred.

The NAIOP Advocacy Team is working on numerous initiatives at the state and local level. If you have questions regarding these, or other topics, please feel free to reach out to NAIOP's CEO Tamara Small or NAIOP's Senior Vice President of Policy and Public Affairs, Anastasia Daou.