Boston City Council Docket 1711 would extend the city’s condominium-conversion protections to tenants in certain non-owner-occupied two- and three-family buildings built before December 1983. The proposal, introduced by Councilors Liz Breadon and Gabriela Coletta Zapata, is assigned to the Committee on Government Operations and is awaiting a public hearing, according to Senator Lydia Edwards’ office.
What would change
Boston’s current ordinance covers residential properties with four or more units. The proposed update would bring some smaller rental buildings within its protections, addressing a gap as two- and three-family properties convert to condominiums. Under the proposal as described by Edwards’ office, the Mayor’s Office of Housing would grant preliminary approval, with a final permit issued by Inspectional Services after requirements are met. For a vacant property, the proposal would require a year between those approvals.
For a unit occupied within the previous 12 months, the proposal would require owners to honor tenant protections, including relocation benefits and a first right of refusal to purchase the unit when possible, Edwards’ office says. The measure remains a proposal; the committee has not yet held its public hearing, and its eventual terms or timing are not established.
How the proposal relates to current rules
The existing ordinance already gives covered tenants notice and other protections, but it does not bar conversions. The City of Boston’s conversion FAQ says owners must provide proper notice, prepare a Conversion Plan and obtain a Conversion Permit. The city’s Mayor’s Office of Housing says most tenants covered by current rules can receive a one-year lease extension and $10,000 in relocation benefits; eligible tenants may qualify for a five-year extension and $15,000.
The change also sits within a broader state context. The Metropolitan Area Planning Council estimates that the 2024 change to Massachusetts’ condo-conversion law made protections available to tenants in 124,400 two- and three-family buildings, containing 287,200 homes statewide. That estimate describes the potential reach of state-law protections, not the number of Boston tenants who would qualify under Docket 1711.
What the conversion figures show
Figures reported alongside the proposal from the Mayor’s Office of Housing Condo Master Deeds Tracker count 101 two- and three-family properties built before 1983 that converted from rentals to condominiums. Those properties produced 317 condominium units and represented 244 apartments lost, according to the East Boston Times-Free Press. The counts describe conversions; they do not establish how many tenants lived in those properties or would have qualified for protections.
The proposal’s next step is a public hearing before the Committee on Government Operations. Until that occurs, the committee’s response, any amendments and the measure’s prospects remain unknown.
