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S 998

Permits telemedicine services for mental and behavioral health issues under the workers' compensation system

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Samra Brouk and 2 co-sponsors

Mass. towns can adopt TOPA, granting tenant associations a prioritized right to buy rental properties sold or foreclosed, to preserve long-term affordable housing.

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Bill Summary · S 998

Summary — S. 998 (Senate Docket No. 1068)

An Act to guarantee a tenant’s first right of refusal

Note on inconsistent metadata: The bill text submitted is a Massachusetts state bill (Senate docket no. 1068 / S. 998) introduced by Senator Patricia Jehlen and co-petitioners and creates a municipal "tenant opportunity to purchase" local option. Some uploaded metadata (title, sponsor list, committees) appears to mix unrelated federal or prior-session items; this summary is based on the Massachusetts bill text provided.

Purpose / Intent

The bill creates a municipal local option allowing cities and towns to adopt a Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA). Its aim is to give tenant associations (or their designee/successor) a prioritized opportunity to purchase residential property that is being sold, short-sold, deeded in lieu, foreclosed, or offered at auction — with special emphasis on preserving long‑term affordable housing.

Key provisions and definitions

  • Adds a new Section 21A to Chapter 184 of the Massachusetts General Laws establishing the local option for a tenant’s opportunity to purchase.
  • Defines key terms including: Affiliate, Auction/Public Auction, Borrower, Deed in Lieu, Executive Office (Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities), Designee, Foreclosure, Housing Accommodation, Immediate Family Member, Mortgage Loan, Mortgagee, Owner, Purchaser, Purchase Contract, Sale, Short-Sale, Successor, and others.
  • Housing Accommodation exclusions: group residences, shelters, lodging houses, orphanages, temporary/transitional housing; excludes 1–4 unit borrower‑occupied properties where borrower is domiciled at initiation of short-sale, deed in lieu, or foreclosure.
  • Tenant organization rules:
    • Establishes a Tenant Association and a “Minimum Tenant Participation” threshold of 51% of tenant-occupied units (rounded up) to qualify (one resident per unit may count toward participation).
    • That minimum participation is presumed maintained for one year after initial establishment.
  • Long-Term Affordable Housing standards:
    • For rental housing: at least 40% of units affordable to households ≤60% of Area Median Income (AMI), with affordability restrictions recorded for at least 30 years.
    • For homeownership conversions: all units affordable to buyers ≤100% AMI, and at least 50% affordable to buyers ≤80% AMI, with restrictions for at least 30 years.
  • Successor/Designee: Allows Tenant Association to designate or form an entity (nonprofit, for‑profit, PHA, limited equity cooperative, etc.) with requisite experience and financial capacity to acquire and operate the property; purchases by a Designee must use the property as long‑term affordable housing under recorded restrictions.
  • Sale definition: includes single or series of transfers within a 3-year period; transfers to an Owner’s Affiliate are excluded from triggering the tenant right.

Who is affected

  • Tenants in multi-family housing in municipalities that opt into this local ordinance — their tenant associations may get a prioritized purchase right.
  • Property Owners selling rental housing subject to a municipal adoption of this section.
  • Lenders/mortgagees, borrowers facing short-sales, deeds in lieu, foreclosure, and auction sales — procedural requirements could affect timelines.
  • Nonprofit developers, public housing authorities, and tenant‑controlled entities potentially positioned to acquire properties and convert/maintain them as long-term affordable housing.

Procedural / timeline notes

  • Introduced in the Senate (filed Jan 15, 2025 per docket; introduced/read March 12, 2025).
  • Legislative history in the provided materials is inconsistent (references to multiple committees — Labor, Housing, Finance — and various dates). A hearing was listed for 11/19/2025 in Gardner Auditorium (per the materials).
  • Municipal adoption required: the statute grants a local option; it does not automatically apply statewide — cities/towns must enact the TOPA locally.

Potential impacts / considerations

  • Could help preserve affordable rental and ownership housing and enable tenant-controlled preservation of homes at risk of speculative sales or displacement.
  • May impose additional notice, timing, and procedural obligations on sellers and mortgagees, potentially complicating or delaying sales, short-sales, and foreclosures.
  • Financing and capacity constraints: tenant associations or designees may need access to financing, technical assistance, and organizational capacity to exercise purchase rights.
  • Legal complexity: definitions, exclusions, and interplay with mortgagee rights, bankruptcy, or federal foreclosure processes may produce litigation or require guidance.

For full procedural text and detailed mechanics (time windows, notice requirements, purchase match procedures, financing mechanisms, remedies, and exemptions), consult the full bill text in Senate Docket No. 1068 (S. 998) and subsequent committee reports.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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