Nine Towns Face Lawsuits Over MBTA Housing Law Violations

The time has arrived for nine communities that haven't signed on to the MBTA Communities Act to take action.

According to a Sentinel & Enterprise report, Dracut, Tewksbury, and Wilmington are three of the nine that must now pay for resisting or delaying compliance with the act. The law requires municipalities served by or adjacent to MBTA transit to create zoning for multifamily housing. Many of the resisting communities were required to comply with this mandate by July 2025. The remaining six communities that have yet to comply also include East Bridgewater, Halifax, Holden, Marblehead, Middleton, and Winthrop.

In July 2025, Attorney General Andrea Campbell warned that her office could pursue enforcement against noncompliant towns beginning this year. 

According to the Sentinel & Enterprise, Tewksbury Public Schools learned last December that it won't receive specific designated state funding in fiscal year 2026 due to the town's noncompliance. This funding includes an Early College planning grant of $50,000, an Early College designation funding grant of $250,000 over five years, and a time-out practices implementation grant of $50,000.

Campbell revoked a $2 million MassWorks grant for Middleton that had already been awarded, along with funding for a Council on Aging passenger van.

As of Feb. 2, 165 of 177 affected communities are in compliance, representing over 90% with multifamily zoning districts, leaving the holdouts facing mounting pressure and penalties.

When contacted by the Sentinel & Enterprise, Tewksbury Town Manager John Curran said he would pass along the lawsuit to the Select Board and the town's legal counsel to determine the next steps.

While the MBTA Communities Act allows multifamily zoning by-right, it does not guarantee construction or affordable housing protection. Some towns have devised strategies that technically comply while limiting meaningful development, prompting suggestions that holdouts could adopt similar approaches. For example, the Sentinel & Enterprise noted that some towns have developed zoning to allow apartment buildings in places where they already exist. Others have created zoning rules that limit building heights and densities, effectively deterring new development.