After submitting more than 16,000 signatures to the Secretary of State’s office this week, the Legalize Starter Homes campaign will advance to the November ballot, the campaign announced June 23.

After the Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling that the rent control petition cannot move forward to the ballot, Legalize Starter Homes is the only solution proposed to voters to help alleviate the housing crisis in Massachusetts.

For far too many Massachusetts residents, the prospect of homeownership is slipping further out of reach. With the median home price approaching $700,000, young families, workers, and seniors have been priced out of the communities they love. Restrictive local zoning rules have allowed a small number of opponents to block the critical construction of the homes Massachusetts desperately needs. The Legalize Starter Homes ballot question is currently the only option for voters to have a say in the solution.

“The success of this ballot question will be a pivotal moment in our fight to make Massachusetts a more affordable place for all its residents,” said Andrew Mikula, chair of the Legalize Starter Homes campaign. “Building more single-family homes on smaller lots across the state is a crucial step that we can take to stabilize housing costs, which are already far too high and continue to rise. Our solution will facilitate the production of smaller homes, lower-cost homes, and more homes in general. We look forward to continuing to win over voters.” 

The campaign enters the summer with strong momentum. Housing affordability continues to rank among voters’ top concerns, and polling shows broad voter support for policy reforms that allow more homes to be built across Massachusetts. Last month, The New York Times Editorial Board endorsed the Legalize Starter Homes initiative, recognizing it as a practical response to the Commonwealth’s housing shortage, and reinforcing a growing consensus that increasing housing supply is essential to making Massachusetts more affordable. 

Should the ballot question be successful, single-family homes will be allowed to be built in any residentially-zoned area as long as the lot has at least 5,000 square feet, at least 50 feet of land bordering the street, and access to public sewer and water services. By contrast, many municipalities in Massachusetts currently require overly restrictive and large lot sizes for single-family homes, preventing the construction of modest, smaller homes for the state’s families and downsizing seniors.