Healey moves from passage to implementation on $5 billion Affordable Homes Act, calls to ban tenant broker fees
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Summary
Governor Maura Healey said the Affordable Homes Act will move into implementation, reported a 50% increase in state program production, and urged abolition of tenant broker fees while pledging to help towns implement MBTA Communities zoning changes.
Governor Maura Healey used her address to signal a shift from legislative passage to implementation for housing measures and renter protections.
Healey said the $5 billion Affordable Homes Act she signed will be put into action, noting state programs have already increased production by 50 percent and that more than 116 towns have opted into MBTA Communities measures to allow more housing near transit. She described this implementation phase as the stage for getting "shovels in the ground and people in homes."
On renters, the governor called for ending tenant broker fees, calling them an unfair upfront cost that can amount to hundreds or thousands of dollars when moving. Healey framed abolishing these fees as an affordability measure and said it is the right thing to do.
She also linked housing challenges to broader pressures on shelters and municipal budgets, saying the state will prioritize getting families out of hotels and working with the legislature to reform the emergency shelter system.
Healey invited municipal partners to continue cooperating on zoning and implementation and said the administration will lean into carrying out the law's goals in the coming months.