The Boston condo conversion ordinance would extend tenant protections to many of the city’s two- and three-family rental buildings under a proposal now before the Boston City Council. Docket #1711, filed by Council President Liz Breadon and District 1 Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata, was assigned to the Committee on Government Operations and is awaiting a public hearing, according to an Oct. 2 release published by the Charlestown Patriot-Bridge.
The proposal is formally titled “An Ordinance Amending and Extending Protections for Tenants Facing Displacement by Condominium or Cooperative Conversion.” It is the latest housing item on a council agenda that has recently included downtown office-to-residential projects such as the 133 Federal Street apartment conversion and the 31 Milk Street conversion financing.
What the Boston Condo Conversion Ordinance Change Would Do
Boston’s current ordinance applies to residential buildings with four or more units, Hoodline reported. According to the release from State Sen. Lydia Edwards’ office, Docket #1711 would:
- Extend protections to non-owner-occupied two- and three-family properties built before December 1983.
- Require a one-year waiting period between preliminary and final conversion approval for vacant properties. Sponsors say this would discourage owners from emptying units to avoid tenant protections.
- Require owners to honor tenant rights, including a first right of refusal to buy the unit when possible and relocation payments, if a unit was occupied within the previous 12 months. If an eligible tenant cannot be reached, the relocation payment would go to the Mayor’s Office of Housing.
- Set up a two-step approval process: the Mayor’s Office of Housing would grant preliminary approval, and Inspectional Services would issue the final conversion permit only after tenant obligations are met.
State Law Background and City Authority
In 2024, the Affordable Homes Act extended Massachusetts’ condominium conversion law to certain two- and three-family properties where the owner does not live in the building, according to the release. Under state law, cities and towns may adopt their own conversion ordinances covering tenant notice, relocation costs, eviction protections and permitting. The state rules set a baseline that local ordinances can add to.
Under the city’s existing rules, most covered tenants can receive a one-year lease extension and $10,000 in relocation benefits, and some eligible tenants can qualify for a five-year extension and $15,000, Hoodline reported, citing the Mayor’s Office of Housing. The Metropolitan Area Planning Council has estimated that the 2024 state change made protections available in about 124,400 two- and three-family buildings statewide. Hoodline noted that this figure describes statewide reach, not the number of Boston tenants who would qualify under Docket #1711.
Conversion Data Cited by Sponsors
The sponsors cite figures from the Mayor’s Office of Housing Condo Master Deeds Tracker. Over roughly the last two and a half years, 101 two- and three-family properties built before 1983 were converted from rentals to condominiums citywide. Those conversions created 317 condo units and removed 244 apartment units from the rental market. In East Boston, 17 such properties converted, producing 70 condo units and removing 42 apartments as of May 2026, according to the release.
Sponsors say the update would extend coverage to tenants in more than 90% of Boston’s residential buildings. Hoodline noted that the conversion counts do not show how many tenants lived in those buildings or how many would have qualified for protections.
What Supporters Say and What Comes Next
“This update strengthens and modernizes our protections by expanding coverage to tripledeckers, improving notice and relocation requirements, and closing key loopholes,” Breadon said in the release. Coletta Zapata said the protections matter “in neighborhoods like East Boston, where smaller two- and three-family homes make up so much of our housing stock.” Edwards, who chaired the Legislature’s Housing Committee when the 2024 change passed, said strengthening the rules “helps ensure that tenants are not left behind.”
The materials released so far do not include statements from property-owner or real estate groups. Those groups and other members of the public can testify when the Committee on Government Operations holds its hearing. No hearing date had been announced as of Oct. 2, and any amendments, a committee vote and full council action would come after that hearing. Breadon’s council has also sent other recent proposals to committee review, including the Boston street performers proposal.
Sources: Charlestown Patriot-Bridge; Hoodline; East Boston Times-Free Press.