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Massachusetts Housing Secretary Says State Will Hit Its 222,000-Unit Goal

Resist Now 3 min read

Massachusetts Set a Goal of 222,000 New Homes by 2030

Juana Matias, Massachusetts Secretary of the Office of Housing and Livable Communities, said on June 22, 2026 that the state can meet its target of 222,000 new housing units by 2030, the benchmark Governor Maura Healey set in 2023 to address the state’s long-running shortage. Matias’s confidence matters because the state has consistently underproduced housing for decades, and skepticism about whether any plan can break that pattern is widespread.

Massachusetts has added housing at a fraction of the pace needed to keep rents stable. Boston-area rents rose more than 30% between 2019 and 2024, according to Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, and the state’s vacancy rate remains among the lowest in the country. The 222,000-unit goal is the administration’s central bet that supply-side action can reverse that trajectory.

The MBTA Communities Law Is the Engine

The Healey administration’s primary production lever is the MBTA Communities Act, which requires 177 cities and towns near transit to rezone for multifamily housing. Municipalities that refused to comply have faced loss of state funding, and several towns challenged the law in court. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld the law in 2024, clearing the path for enforcement.

As of early 2026, most MBTA communities had adopted compliant zoning, but advocacy groups including Abundant Housing Massachusetts note that rezoning on paper and shovels in the ground are different things. Permitting, financing gaps, and community opposition to individual projects still slow actual construction.

30%+ Rise in Boston-area rents between 2019 and 2024, per Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies

Local Governments Decide Whether It Gets Built

Even with state-level strategy in place, city and town governments control permitting timelines, fee structures, and the density allowed within newly rezoned parcels. Secretary Matias’s assertion that the state will hit its goals depends heavily on local officials moving permits quickly and not designing zoning that technically complies but practically blocks construction.

Residents who want to see housing production actually happen have direct access to those local decision-makers.

What You Can Do Now

  1. Attend your city or town’s planning board meetings. Permitting delays are most often where production stalls. Find your local board schedule at your town’s official website and show up to support multifamily projects on the agenda.

  2. Contact your state representative and senator at (617) 722-2000 and ask them to fund the MassHousing production programs in the fiscal year 2027 budget. Ask specifically about the Affordable Homes Act implementation line items.

  3. Look up your municipality’s MBTA Communities compliance status at mass.gov/mbta-communities. If your town is out of compliance or recently rezoned, contact your selectboard or city council to ask when the first compliant projects will break ground.

  4. Submit public comment to the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities at mass.gov/eohlc if you see permitting or local opposition stalling projects in your area. Agency staff track these reports.

Sources

CommonWealth Beacon: Massachusetts Housing Secretary Juana Matias Says State Can Hit Housing Goals CommonWealth Beacon: SJC Upholds MBTA Communities Zoning Law Mass.gov: Massachusetts 2023 Statewide Housing Plan and 222,000-Unit Goal Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies: 2024 State of the Nation’s Housing Report Mass.gov: MBTA Communities Multifamily Zoning Requirement Details and Compliance Tracker