Somerville says it already exceeds new state condo-conversion rules; city to discuss stronger local measures

Somerville housing officials told the City Council's Committee on Housing and Community Development on June 30 that recent changes in state law expand which buildings can be regulated for condominium conversion, but that Somerville's local ordinance already provides broader protections.

Ellen Schachter, Director of the Office of Housing and Disability, said the 2024 housing bond bill (often referenced in the meeting as the Affordable Homes Act) changed state authorization so that more two- and three-family buildings statewide now fall within municipal regulation. "In the end of 2024 in the housing bond bill, a series of policy changes went into effect," Schachter said. "The state law says that you can now regulate 2 and 3 family buildings that are not owner occupied. The city of Somerville, under its legislation, regulates all 2 and 3 families regardless of whether or not they are owner occupied."

Why it matters: Schachter told the committee that Somerville's 1985 ordinance already covered two- and three-family structures regardless of owner occupancy, so the city does not gain new enforcement authority from the state change. She also noted the state expansion will mean roughly 287,200 additional units statewide become regulated under the new law, increasing protections for tenants across the Commonwealth.

Committee members asked whether the city could legally provide a priority for Somerville residents when units come onto the market. Schachter said tenants already have a right of first purchase under the condominium conversion process and that other local tools sometimes can be used to influence tenant outcomes: "Other than that, I think it is absolutely something we can do where we're giving an owner something in exchange. Potentially, we're giving them a variance or we're giving inclusionary zoning," she said. She cautioned that any explicit residency preference in broader market sales raises fair-housing and anti-discrimination concerns, but said previous Housing Division research supported residency preferences for some city-funded programs (for example, inclusionary programs and the "100 homes" program) where data showed no disproportionate harm to marginalized communities.

The committee did not take formal action on this item; Schachter said a separate meeting of legislative affairs would review proposed ordinance changes to strengthen Somerville's condominium-conversion protections.

City context and next steps: Schachter said a separate legislative-affairs meeting scheduled the following night would consider other changes to the local condo ordinance. The committee's members expressed appreciation for the update and interest in any forthcoming ordinance revisions.

Ending: The item was closed for the committee after the update; members asked staff to bring forward any proposed legislative language in the next round of meetings.