An Act to promote affordable housing

This bill requires Massachusetts municipalities to create five-year Housing Production Plans that include specific strategies for increasing affordable housing. The plans must be based on a comprehensive assessment of local demographics, infrastructure capacity, and future housing needs. A key provision mandates that these plans set a numerical goal to increase the number of subsidized housing units by at least 0.50% annually until a statutory minimum is reached. Local planning boards and city councils will adopt these plans, which must then be reviewed and approved by the Department of Housing and Community Development within 90 days. The legislation aims to standardize how towns address housing shortages by ensuring they have clear, data-driven roadmaps for development.