Boston Council Hearing Advances Transfer Fee Petition to Fund Affordable Housing

BOSTON — April 10, 2026 — Boston City Council committee holds third hearing on real estate transfer fee home rule petition. The Committee on Government Operations, chaired by District 1 Councillor Gabriela Coletta Zapata, convened April 10 on Docket 0163, a petition sponsored by Councillors Henry Santana, Councillor Louis-Jean, and Sharon Durkin that would authorize a transfer fee of up to 2 percent on property sales above $2 million and expand the 41C senior property tax exemption to cover households up to 50 percent of area median income. Chief of Housing Sheila Dillon told councillors the fee would have generated $180 million over the past four years and is projected to raise $50 million to $100 million annually, routed to the Neighborhood Housing Trust, which currently holds approximately $5 million. Boston Housing Authority Administrator Kenzie Bach urged swift council passage, warning that the State House legislative window for home rule petitions closes around July 31 and that dozens of other Massachusetts cities and towns have already filed similar measures. The council has previously passed a version of the petition 12-1, and Coletta Zapata stated her goal of moving it expeditiously; no formal vote was taken at Friday's hearing.