Wins / Massachusetts, August 2024
Massachusetts legalizes accessory dwelling units statewide
The Massachusetts Affordable Homes Act requires every municipality to allow accessory dwelling units of 900 square feet or less by right in single-family zoning districts, ending local bans and discretionary permitting for small secondary homes.
- Where
- Massachusetts
- When
- August 2024
- What kind
- Legislation passed
- Issue
- Housing
- Work by
- Abundant Housing Massachusetts
Why this is a partial win
This arrived as a state law overriding local zoning. Libertarians divide on that: some hold that a state has no business dictating what towns may forbid. The ledger records it because the person coerced was the owner who could not build, and the day after signing that owner could. The federalism question is real and is not the one the ledger measures. The state also sets its own limits in the same act, 900 square feet and state regulations on what towns may require, so the owner trades a local ban for a state rulebook.
Sources
Where to check it. Every entry on the ledger has at least two.
More from the ledger
Other entries from Massachusetts and on the same issue.
Be counted
Most people who hold libertarian positions have never used the word. Ten statements, two minutes, and your dot joins the crowd.