YES on 7 (Legalize Starter Homes)
Question 7 would require that cities and towns allow single-family homes on residentially zoned lots that meet minimum standards of at least 5,000 square feet in area, at least 50 feet of frontage on a street or public way, and access to public sewer and water services.
In short: This would reduce minimum lot size requirements in many cases to 5,000 square feet.
Why YES on 7
Massachusetts has a housing affordability crisis, and we need every tool in the toolbox to address it. Large minimum lot size requirements pose a major barrier to meeting the state’s housing production goals, limiting how much new housing can be built and who can possibly afford to live there.
So many young families are moving out of Massachusetts because they realize that they cannot possibly afford to buy a home here. If we want our state to be a place where working families can afford to live, then we need to respond with policy action.
Large lot size requirements have also been a tool used by communities to increase racial and economic segregation, and it is overdue for us to relegate such exclusionary zoning to the past.
Who Is Behind Question 7?
Most of the money from the YES on 7 ballot committee has come from real estate interests, but the campaign has also been backed by progressive pro-housing elected officials.
Write a Letter to the Editor
Adapt the template below! Or email us at issues@progressivemass.com for help!
Massachusetts has a housing affordability crisis, and voters have the opportunity to take action by voting YES on 7 this November.
We need to use every tool in the toolbox, and reforming our zoning laws, especially outdated exclusionary zoning practices, is an essential part. Large minimum lot size requirements in cities and towns across Massachusetts pose a major hurdle to reaching our state’s housing production goals and make many communities prohibitively expensive for new families to live in.
Question 7 would address this by reining in large minimum lot size requirements and making it possible to build more starter homes. This isn’t ending single family zoning: it’s making it so that communities can be built with a modest degree of density, not just sprawl and spiraling cost.
So many young families are moving out of Massachusetts because they realize that they cannot possibly afford to buy a home here. If we want our state to be a place where working families can afford to live, then we need to respond with policy action. The Legislature has been too slow to address this, but we, the voters, must play our part in voting YES on 7 this November.
Read More
- Learn more about the campaign at https://www.legalizestarterhomes.com/.
- Editorial Board. “How to Stop the Affluent From Rigging the Housing Market.” New York Times. May 30, 2026.
- Glaeser, Edward, Jenny Schuetz and Bryce Ward. “How Large Lot Zoning and Other Town Regulations Are Driving up Home Prices.” CommonWealth Beacon. 2006.
- National Zoning Atlas. “Zoning Snapshot: Massachusetts.” 2026.
- Song, Jaehee. “The Effects of Residential Zoning in U.S. Housing Markets.” February 2022.