Press Release  Governor Healey Signs Executive Order to Explore Single Stair Construction to Boost Housing Production, Lower Costs

Boston — Today, Governor Maura Healey signed a new executive order to study allowing single stair construction in some residential buildings in an effort to increase housing production and lower costs. Currently, Massachusetts building code requires two exit stairs for buildings above three stories or with long interior corridors, which makes it harder to build mid-rise development on smaller parcels. The Governor is establishing a technical advisory group to explore the possibility of allowing single stair construction in residential buildings higher than three stories to make it easier to build more housing while ensuring safety.

“We’re all about making it easier to build more housing across our state to drive down costs for everyone,” said Governor Healey. “While the double stair requirement plays an important role in ensuring safety, it’s also holding us back from the type of housing construction we need to meet demand. This group will include the best subject matter experts and fire safety officials to explore how we can make it easier to build housing by allowing single stair construction, while continuing to protect our residents and first responders.”

"Building new housing that prioritizes affordability, enhancing the livability of our communities and keeping people safe couldn’t be more important as we respond to our housing shortage," said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. "Our administration is spurring all kinds of housing production to meets the range of needs facing Massachusetts residents, so I'm eager for the advisory group to get started and study the feasibility of single stair construction while considering all possible safety risks."    

This executive order builds on the 2025 recommendations made by the Unlocking Housing Production Commission, which was tasked with examining how state and local laws, regulations, and practices could be revised to increase the supply of housing.  

The advisory group, which will include fire services, building officials, national architectural experts, accessibility advocates, and public-safety professionals, will be tasked with developing a process to evaluate whether, and under what conditions, single stair multifamily residential buildings above three stories can be safely permitted in Massachusetts as a tool to expand mid-rise housing production. The group's charge will involve comparing single stair and multi-stair buildings, identifying necessary fire- and life-safety precautions, and recommending targeted updates to the State Building Code. 

"Every safe, evidence-based strategy to build more homes is needed to meet the housing demands we're facing, and single-stair multifamily residential buildings could offer us a new way to increase our housing supply," said Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus. "This executive order will bring together the right people - from fire safety officials to architects, accessibility experts and more - who will help us explore the possibilities and find the best path forward."

Current Massachusetts building code generally requires two exit stairs for buildings above three stories or with long interior corridors, limiting the feasibility of mid-rise development on smaller parcels. With appropriate fire safety requirements, updating the code to allow the construction of single stairway residential buildings higher than three stories could significantly unlock housing production by boosting unit yield in typical mid-rise building designs, reducing per-unit construction costs and making projects on smaller lots more feasible.   

Massachusetts would not be the first state to adopt a single stair standard for residential buildings higher than three stories and would be following a longstanding approach used in numerous U.S. states, as well as in many other countries. For example, New York City and Seattle have permitted single stair buildings up to six stories for decades, and Honolulu legalized them in 2012. More recently, Tennessee, Montana, and Connecticut have enacted legislation allowing single stair buildings up to six stories under specified safety conditions. Across most of Europe, double-stair requirements were never adopted.

The impact could be especially impactful because of the nature of Greater Boston’s available land. Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) identified 4,955 underutilized parcels, such as parking lots or vacant, single story retail, located within ¾ mile of rapid transit that could host a mid-rise building. If these housing projects became economically feasible, JCHS estimates that these sites could produce up to 130,000 new housing units through urban infill alone if single stair is allowed up to six stories and 24 units.

The executive order is the latest example of the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s bold efforts to increase housing supply statewide and bring down costs for Massachusetts residents. The administration is expediting permitting processes, releasing surplus state land for housing production, converting underutilized commercial space into residences, implementing the MBTA Communities law, legalizing accessory dwelling units statewide and providing financing tools to help homeowners build them, and creating a first-in-the-nation fund to finance mixed-income 

housing development. To help people afford their mortgages and rents right now, the administration is increasing down payment assistance and lowering mortgage rates for first-time homebuyers, banned mandatory renter-paid fees, gave seniors up to $2,800 a year to help with housing costs and expanded home inspection protections.  

Statements of Support: 

John Nunnari, Executive Director, AIA Massachusetts: 
“This is a thoughtful, evidence-driven step that brings together architects, fire-safety professionals and public officials to carefully evaluate how housing production, affordability and life-safety can be advanced together. We look forward to contributing our expertise to a transparent, data-informed process that prioritizes both safe building design and the creation of much-needed housing across the Commonwealth.”

Jesse Kanson-Benanav, Executive Director, Abundant Housing:
“We applaud the Healey-Driscoll Administration for taking this important step of establishing an advisory group of experts to define a clear and thoughtful pathway for legalizing mid-rise single-stair residential buildings. By bringing together technical expertise and stakeholder perspectives, this advisory group moves the Commonwealth one step closer to unlocking new, safe, and reasonably priced housing options at a time when our housing shortage continues to drive sky high housing costs across Massachusetts. We look forward to working alongside the administration and other stakeholders on the advisory group to turn this vision into reality.”

Chris Herbert, Managing Director, Joint Center for Housing Studies:
“There is broad agreement that a shortage of new homes is a major driver of our housing affordability crisis, and most policy attention has focused on reforming zoning to allow higher-density development. Far less attention has been paid to the role of building codes, which often make it difficult to create more affordable and appealing housing options. One promising change would be to allow mid-rise buildings to use a single-stair design. This could unlock not only more housing overall, but also a wider range of “missing middle” housing types that fit comfortably within existing neighborhoods.” 

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