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Seasonal Communities FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions for Seasonal Communities about the designation and tools available.
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Seasonal Communities Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Below are answers to Frequently Asked Questions that have been prepared for informational purposes. We encourage cities and towns to discuss their specific questions with municipal legal counsel, and for individuals to speak with their city or town and seek advice only from credible professionals.

Designations

How can a municipality gain a Seasonal Communities designation?  

As of May 2026, 44 municipalities in Massachusetts have been designated as seasonal communities. 25 were designated through statute in the Affordable Homes Act and 19 others were designated by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (HLC) subsequently. Communities can complete an interest form on the HLC webpage if they want to be considered for designation. 

Once designated as a seasonal community, the municipality must accept the designation for it to become effective. A designated community may, instead, reject the designation. Rejecting designation does not limit a municipality's ability to accept it at a later date. See 760 CMR 76.03. 

Is there a requirement for HLC to review and approve Seasonal Communities zoning?

No, the statute does not require HLC to review or approve Seasonal Communities’ zoning for tiny houses and undersized lots. Whenever a town amends its zoning or other by-laws, the Office of the Attorney General is required to review the changes and disapprove them to the extent they are inconsistent with state law, including the Seasonal Communities law. The Attorney General’s Office does not review amendments to zoning ordinances of cities. To make this process easier, HLC is working with regional planning agencies to develop model bylaws for communities to amend and adopt for tiny houses and undersized lots. For more information on the Attorney General's Office review of by-law changes, you can visit the website of the Office's Municipal Law Unit at Municipal Law Review | Mass.gov.   

Can a Seasonal Communities designation be lost or revoked once it is accepted? 

Yes, the designation can be lost if it is revoked by the municipality or if it is revoked by HLC. 

Designated seasonal communities may revoke the designation in the same manner as acceptance. See 760 CMR 76.03.

HLC may revoke a seasonal community's designation if the community fails to adopt the required zoning within 24 months of accepting the designation (or 24 months of regulations’ promulgation, whichever is later) or if the community adopts the zoning on paper but does not meaningfully permit new residential units that are applied for. As communities change, HLC will also monitor data on the criteria for designation and may revoke a seasonal community’s designation if it does not satisfy the criteria for five or more consecutive years. The Seasonal Communities designation is an optional and collaborative tool for communities. This revocation ability ensures that the Seasonal Communities tools and resources are going to the municipalities that are most impacted and that are participating in the collective action required to ensure that there is sufficient year-round housing. 

Do we have to use all of the tools available if we accept a Seasonal Communities designation? 

No. All of the tools are optional. Communities are welcome to use some of them, but not others as they see fit. The only two requirements are to pass the zoning updates on undersized lots and tiny homes.  

Zoning Requirements

Do these zoning provisions apply to all residential zones or can communities choose which ones?

All residential zones. A city or town must amend their zoning to allow tiny houses and development of undersized lots in all zoning districts where single-family residential can be developed as-of-right or through special permit. 

What are the consequences for a community that accepts the designation but then doesn’t enact the required zoning for tiny houses and undersized lots within 24 months?

Seasonal communities that have accepted their designation but have not enacted the required zoning within 24 months of that acceptance will likely not be eligible for Seasonal Communities Grant Program funding from that point forward and may be ineligible for other state administered incentives or preferences designed for seasonal communities. HLC may also revoke a seasonal community's designation if the community fails to adopt the required zoning within 24 months of accepting the designation (or 24 months of regulations’ promulgation, whichever is later).

Acceptance of the designation is optional and the regulations specify that a municipality may revoke their acceptance of the designation in the same manner it was accepted. HLC does not anticipate that seasonal community compliance status would implicate any other state funding opportunities.

If a seasonal community's zoning already meets the undersized lots and tiny homes requirements, does that community need to amend zoning? 

If current zoning meets the requirements laid out in regulations, a community does not need to amend its zoning by-law to satisfy the “shall amend” language included in regulations. This language is satisfied by a community having already amended zoning to allow the required undersized lot and tiny home development. Just be sure to review local zoning to ensure it meets all the provisions of the requirements. If local zoning already meets these requirements, you only need to send a copy of the zoning which satisfies requirements to HLC. 

What if a seasonal community has similar or more permissive zoning on undersized lots or tiny houses?

The regulation requires seasonal communities to adopt as-of-right zoning to allow development of undersized lots and tiny houses if the owner agrees to impose certain use and occupancy restrictions (year-round restrictions and income restrictions). Local requirements may be more permissive than the regulation’s minimum lot size requirements and setback requirements for undersized lot zoning for year-round attainable housing. Nothing in the regulation prohibits a city or town from enacting or exercising other zoning for tiny houses and undersized lots in addition to the required zoning under the Seasonal Communities statute.  For instance, if zoning already allowed for single family housing to be built on a pre-existing nonconforming lot with no year-round occupancy restrictions but more restrictive setback requirements, the owner could choose to develop their property under the new seasonal communities by-law, which requires a year-round and income restriction, or develop the property under the existing zoning which does not require a year-round restriction but has a more restrictive setback requirement.

Undersized Lots

What is the undersized lot requirement?  

Municipalities that accept their designation are required to amend their zoning to allow attainable housing units with year-round housing restrictions as-of-right on undersized lots wherever single-family development is allowed as-of-right or by special permit. The new zoning must allow development on undersized lots that are at least 10,000 square feet or 25% of the minimum lot size for a single-family home located in the zoning district, whichever is greater. Note that wastewater and sewer system laws still apply to residential development on undersized lots as long as they aren’t more restrictive than relevant federal or state regulations or are necessary to address one or more specific and articulable concerns directly related to public health, safety or welfare and such concerns cannot be reasonably mitigated by alternative means. This approach mirrors what some seasonal communities have already done: allowing for building housing on smaller lot sizes as long as it is used for year-round residences rather than for short-term rentals. While this is the minimum requirement for communities, municipalities are welcome to consider if this approach could be expanded to other lot non-conformities or if other housing development could be allowed on certain undersized lots.  

Is there an income limit for occupants of a building developed as of right through the undersized lot zoning requirement?

Yes. A dwelling unit built through the as-of-right undersized lot zoning required to be adopted under the Seasonal Communities statute and these regulations must be both for year-round residency and be restricted for attainable housing. That means for a household with an income at a level defined by the municipality, up to 250% AMI.

Can developers create new undersized lots to take advantage of this requirement? 

This requirement doesn’t change existing rules on lot subdivision approvals. 

Do septic and other regulations still apply to undersized lots?

Yes broadly, as long as they aren’t stricter than federal or state standards. Housing developed as of right through undersized lot zoning required to be adopted by seasonal communities must comply with all applicable federal, state, regional and municipal laws or regulations governing wastewater and sewer systems. However, regional and municipal laws or regulations cannot be more restrictive than any federal or state law or regulation unless a more restrictive regulation is necessary to address one or more specific and articulable concern(s) directly related to public health, safety or welfare and those concerns cannot reasonably be mitigated by alternative means.   

Tiny Houses

What is the tiny house requirement and does it require municipalities to allow mobile home parks? 

Municipalities that accept their designation are required to amend their zoning to allow tiny houses which have year-round housing restrictions as-of-right wherever single-family development is allowed as-of-right or by special permit. Tiny houses must meet size standards and be the principal dwelling of the lot they are built on to take advantage of this zoning requirement. 

The requirement does not address mobile home parks and does not impact municipalities’ ability to allow or further regulate movable tiny houses. 

Is there an income limit for occupants of a tiny houses developed as of right?

No. The statute and regulations do not require a tiny house to have an income restriction.

Can a tiny house under Seasonal Communities have a Protected Use ADU (PUADU)?

Yes, but it may be difficult or impractical to build one as-of-right. Under the Seasonal Communities statute, a tiny house is defined as not more than 400 square feet in floor area. Protected Use Accessory Dwelling Units (PUADU’s) are defined by statute to have gross floor areas no greater than the lesser of either 900 square feet or 50% of the gross floor area of the principal dwelling unit. 

As a result, any PUADU would need to have a very small gross floor area to be accessory to a tiny house developed under Seasonal Communities zoning unless the municipality elects to adopt more permissive standards for PUADU’s than the PUADU regulations require.

Attainable Housing, Year-round Housing Occupancy Restriction, and Essential Public Employee Preference

Why is the attainable housing income limit at 250% AMI? Isn’t that high? 

Municipalities are not required to use the 250% AMI standard. They can set the standard at any rate of 250% of AMI or below. In some cases, the housing costs and scarcity in seasonal communities are so extreme that even residents making more than double the area median income are unable to afford housing. The attainable housing definition supports communities to develop and preserve housing for year-round residents that don’t qualify for affordable housing but can’t afford market rate housing. The goal is to allow communities to serve the needs of residents most at risk of displacement, while allowing for flexibility for seasonal communities with different degrees of housing pressure. 

Who enforces year-round occupancy requirements?

The municipality or its designee is responsible for ongoing enforcement of this provision. The as-of-right zoning under Seasonal Communities is available to landowners who agree to impose year-round occupancy restrictions on the units developed through the as-of-right zoning. The year-round restriction requires the owner to sell or rent a residential dwelling unit to a household that executes an agreement with the municipality or their designee that the household will maintain the unit as their primary residence for at least 10 months of the year. The municipality or its designee is responsible for monitoring and enforcing any agreements executed with an individual or household that lives in year-round housing.

Why does the definition of year-round housing occupancy restriction use 10 months rather than 12 months? Why are seasonal communities prohibited from allowing short-term rentals for less than 6 months on undersized lots? 

These are timeframes provided by statute. The statute defines year-round housing as housing for occupancy as a principal residence for not less than 10 months a year. The 10-month requirement for year-round housing occupancy restrictions is a floor, not a ceiling. Municipalities may impose such restrictions for 12 months instead of 10 months but are not required to. The statute also makes it clear that any residential housing built upon undersized lots shall not be used as a seasonal home or short-term rental of less than 6 months. All dwelling units built on undersized lots must have year-round housing occupancy restrictions. As such, these two requirements, applied together, ensure that undersized lots are used for year-round housing and can’t be used for short-term rentals. 

Why aren’t nonprofit employees or fishermen included in the essential public employee preference options for communities? 

The statute authorizes municipalities to establish a preference for essential public employees in units that the municipality acquires or develops. The preference must be for public employees that are necessary to the health and safety of maintaining the community. The statute provides examples, such as including teachers, public works employees, public safety employees, first responders, town administrators and other employees essential for municipal operations. A nonprofit employee and a fisherman are likely not public employees and so would not currently be eligible for the preference. 

Can local housing authorities apply the seasonal communities essential public employees preference?

Not by default. Local housing authorities are considered distinct and separate entities from municipalities and therefore do not qualify as seasonal communities. A seasonal community may acquire or develop a property in partnership with the local housing authority, and in that case, may potentially apply year-round housing occupancy restrictions and/or an essential employee housing preference. 

Can investments made by a municipality before the seasonal designation was accepted be applied towards essential employee housing preference?

No, only acquisition or development actions conducted after the seasonal community has accepted the designation count towards potential eligibility.

What entities are allowed to acquire or develop a property for a year-round housing restriction or essential public employee housing preference?

Any municipally established affordable housing trust fund under MGL Chapter 44 Section 55C, community preservation fund under MGL Chapter 44B, Section 7, year-round housing trust fund as established under the Seasonal Communities statute and regulation, and any other legally-established entity with the powers to acquire or develop land as defined in 760 CMR 76.02, may acquire or develop a property that can receive a year-round housing occupancy restriction or essential public employee housing preference, pending eligibility.

Documents for reference

Bylaws

Meeting notices

Meeting minutes

Presentations

Reference materials

Contact

Online

Email Seasonal Communities at EOHLCSeasonalCommunities@mass.gov
Last updated: March 16, 2026

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