The Boston City Council voted to amend the University Accountability Ordinance to (1) change the annual institutional reporting deadline from Oct. 1 to Nov. 1 and (2) require an annual City Council hearing on the student-housing trends report produced from that data.

Councilor Durkin introduced the amendments and sought suspension of the rules for same-day passage; the council moved and the chair explained the item had already been the subject of a June hearing and an August working session. The body approved the change by voice vote after supporters described the edits as modest, technical fixes that will improve data accuracy and the council’s ability to oversee the results-based report.

Councilor Durkin said the changes address gaps identified in working sessions: the October deadline came before some enrollment and housing decisions were finalized, and the council had no formal requirement to review the student-housing trends report. Durkin’s remarks cited city figures included in committee briefing: Boston has “nearly over a 160,000 college students, more than 69,000 of whom live off campus, occupying more than 17,000 units,” and she argued those trends affect neighborhood housing stock and affordability.

Councilor Colette Zapata, the chair who recommended passage given prior committee hearings and the working session, urged colleagues to support the limited amendments to strengthen oversight. Councilor Braden and Councilor Santana also spoke in favor, describing neighborhood impacts and the need for regular review to inform institutional master planning.

The ordinance changes will allow universities an extra month to submit enrollment and housing data (November 1) so the numbers reflect September enrollment stabilization and add an annual City Council hearing to examine the trends report and its neighborhood impacts. The council approved the docket and the clerk recorded that the measure passed under suspension of the rules.