Airbnb contributes $100K+ to Massachusetts’ Legalize Starter Homes campaign

Key Takeaways

• Airbnb supports Ballot Question 7 to help Massachusetts communities build more affordable housing for its young residents and working families.
  
  
• Question 7 would make it easier to build homes on smaller lots, enabling many more municipalities across the state to build starter homes. Currently, many Massachusetts towns effectively limit more affordable, starter homes from being built with some towns requiring lots to be up to two acres.
  
  
• Airbnb is contributing $100K+ to advance the effort—making it one of the top five largest contributions to date.
  
  

Airbnb announced a $105,000 contribution to the Legalize Starter Homes campaign, supporting the Massachusetts ballot question that would make it easier to build new homes on smaller lots. The “Yes on 7” campaign in support of citizen-led ballot question 7 would make it legal to build new, more affordable single-family homes on lots of 5,000 square feet in municipalities with sufficient sewer and water infrastructure. While Massachusetts faces a severe housing crisis, many cities and towns restrict home construction to lots that are 10,000 square feet or more with some towns requiring up to two acres. Bay Staters will have a chance to vote on Question 7 in November.

In September, we announced the Airbnb Housing Accelerator, a multipronged initiative to build more housing through investment, advocacy, and innovation. The Accelerator includes a $250 million commitment to invest in affordable and mixed-income housing, as well as partnerships nationwide to advance pro-housing policies. As part of the effort to date, the Airbnb Housing Accelerator invested $6.4 million in an affordable housing development in the St. John community of Austin, launched partnerships with organizations like the Massachusetts Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA).

With today’s support for the Legalize Starter Homes campaign and “Yes on 7,” Airbnb is among the campaign’s largest-to-date contributors.

“The Airbnb Housing Accelerator is proud to support the ‘Yes on 7’ Legalize Starter Homes campaign because allowing more starter homes to be built in more places is the kind of common sense reform that will unlock more housing and affordable homeownership opportunities, and should be replicated in communities across the country. ”

Daniel Hornung, Director of Airbnb’s Housing Accelerator

Question 7 would amend Massachusetts laws to:

• Allow single-family homes in residentially zoned areas on lots of at least 5,000 square feet (about the size of an NBA basketball court) in municipalities served by public water and sewer
• Expand access to homeownership for first-time buyers and essential workers like firefighters, nurses, and teachers

Our support for Ballot Question 7 builds on our commitment to partner on real solutions to address housing challenges in Massachusetts, including: partnering with CHAPA, and supporting other pro-housing legislation. This new initiative would help Bay State communities address housing shortages that are driving up the cost of living for residents, including Airbnb hosts who live in cities and towns across the state. To that end, we’re encouraging Massachusetts voters to join us in supporting this transformational affordable housing measure.

“Building more homes is the most direct route to housing affordability and access. That’s why I am proud to support Question 7, to legalize starter homes. I’m grateful to Abundant Homes Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, and all of the advocacy groups that led the work to get this crucial issue before voters. In the Legislature, I’ve been proud to support major state investments in housing production and homeownership, because solving our housing crisis will take all of us. Thank you, Airbnb, for investing in solving this issue and helping expand access to homeownership for residents who feel that owning a home is not in their future.”

Massachusetts State Representative Bill MacGregor

“We’re thrilled to have Airbnb’s support in this once-in-a-generation chance to affect substantive policy change in municipalities across Massachusetts. Their contribution to ‘Yes on 7’ will help our citizen-led movement ensure working families, young people, and more Bay Staters have a real chance to live and work in the communities they love.”

Legalize Starter Homes Committee Chair Andrew Mikula

“By removing zoning barriers, Question 7 will make it easier for more people across Massachusetts to access affordable homeownership opportunities and build generational wealth. CHAPA thanks Airbnb for supporting this important campaign and for investing in innovative solutions for the Commonwealth’s housing shortage.”

CHAPA CEO Eric Shupin

Paid for by Airbnb, Inc.

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