Can Building Code Reform Unlock New Multifamily Housing Development Opportunities? Harvard Thinks So.

A report recently published by Harvard University's Center for Housing Studies (Could Legalizing Mid-Rise Single-Stair Housing Expand and Improve Housing Supply? | Joint Center for Housing Studies) examines how zoning regulation reform may unlock housing development in the Boston metropolitan region. Boston, like our region, is a land-constrained region where new and creative housing solutions are needed to address ongoing housing supply imbalances. As the report notes, a lack of new housing development continues to contribute to housing affordability challenges at the national, state, regional and local levels.

Current building code in Massachusetts requires buildings of more than 3 stories or 12 units to have at least 2 staircases for egress. In the report, Harvard examines how a proposed, technical zoning change raising the maximum height for single-staircase buildings from 3 stories to 6 stories may create a pathway for the development of as many as 130,000 new