Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title VII Chapter 40B
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 40B, § 23 (2026)

Hearing by housing appeals committee; issues; powers of disposition; orders; enforcement

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MAmalegislature.gov (official) JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Section 23. The hearing by the housing appeals committee in the executive office of housing and livable communities shall be limited to the issue of whether, in the case of the denial of an application, the decision of the board of appeals was reasonable and consistent with local needs and, in the case of an approval of an application with conditions and requirements imposed, whether such conditions and requirements make the construction or operation of such housing uneconomic and whether they are consistent with local needs. If the committee finds, in the case of a denial, that the decision of the board of appeals was unreasonable and not consistent with local needs, it shall vacate such decision and shall direct the board to issue a comprehensive permit or approval to the applicant. If the committee finds, in the case of an approval with conditions and requirements imposed, that the decision of the board makes the building or operation of such housing uneconomic and is not consistent with local needs, it shall order such board to modify or remove any such condition or requirement so as to make the proposal no longer uneconomic and to issue any necessary permit or approval; provided, however, that the committee shall not issue any order that would permit the building or operation of such housing in accordance with standards less safe than the applicable building and site plan requirements of the federal Housing Administration or the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency, whichever agency is financially assisting such housing. Decisions or conditions and requirements imposed by a board of appeals that are consistent with local needs shall not be vacated, modified or removed by the committee notwithstanding that such decisions or conditions and requirements have the effect of making the applicant's proposal uneconomic.

The housing appeals committee or the petitioner shall have the power to enforce the orders of the committee at law or in equity in the superior court. The board of appeals shall carry out the order of the hearing appeals committee within thirty days of its entry and, upon failure to do so, the order of said committee shall, for all purposes, be deemed to be the action of said board, unless the petitioner consents to a different decision or order by such board.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 29 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1973–2025 · leading case: Bd. of Appeals v. Hous. Appeals Comm., 887 N.E.2d 1051 (Mass. 2008).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Bd. of Appeals v. Hous. Appeals Comm., 887 N.E.2d 1051 (Mass. 2008). · cites it 6× “” G. L. c. 40B, § 23. By contrast, when the developer appeals from an approval with conditions, “the applicant shall have the burden of proving that the conditions make the building or operation of the housing uneconomic.”
Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Amesbury v. Hous. Appeals Comm., 933 N.E.2d 74 (Mass. 2010). · cites it 4× “” G. L. c. 40B, § 23. 11 In support of *755 the conditions it imposed, the board makes two general arguments.”
Zoning Bd. of Appeals v. Ardemore Apts. Ltd. P'ship, 436 Mass. 811 (Mass. 2002). · cites it 2× “” G. L. c. 40B, § 23. See Board of Appeals of Hanover v.”
Zoning Bd. of Appeals v. Hous. Appeals Comm., 433 N.E.2d 873 (Mass. 1982). · cites it 2× “” G. L. c. 40B, § 23. See Board of Appeals of Hanover, supra at 369.”
Bd. of Appeals of Hanover v. Hous. Appeals Comm., 294 N.E.2d 393 (Mass. 1973). · cites it 2× “When a board has denied an application, the committee is empowered to vacate the board’s decision *374 if it is unreasonable and not consistent with local needs and to direct the board to issue a comprehensive permit or approval to the applicant.”
Zoning Bd. of Appeals v. Sugarbush Meadow, LLC, 981 N.E.2d 690 (Mass. 2013). · cites it 4× “claims the HAC erred in concluding that the town need not acquire a ladder fire truck if the project were built and that other more general claims of adverse fiscal impact arising from the project, such as increased educational, police, and fire fighting costs, may not be…”
Taylor v. Bd. of Appeals, 451 Mass. 270 (Mass. 2008). · cites it 3× “G. L. c. 40B, § 23. The statute also limits the relief that the HAC may grant.”
Town of Middleborough v. Hous. Appeals Comm., 449 Mass. 514 (Mass. 2007). “” See G. L. c. 40B, § 23. If the committee finds that the local board’s action does not meet these standards, it may order that the comprehensive permit issue.”
Eisai, Inc. v. Hous. Appeals Comm., 52 N.E.3d 1097 (Mass. App. Ct. 2016). · cites it 2× “11 Holliston, supra at 414, quoting from G. L. c. 40B, § 23, as amended by St. 1998, c.”
Plan. Bd. v. Hingham Campus, LLC, 780 N.E.2d 902 (Mass. 2003). “” G. L. c. 40B, § 23. The statute does not require the applicant to obtain any form of agency approval as a prerequisite to approval of a comprehensive permit by the local board of appeals.”
Dennis Hous. Corp. v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals, 785 N.E.2d 682 (Mass. 2003). “re dissatisfied with the proposed affordable housing project on any of the very general aesthetic grounds for which a certificate of appropriateness may be denied, 24 that historic committee’s denial of a certificate would create an insurmountable barrier to the project — the…”
Taylor v. Bd. of Appeals, 863 N.E.2d 79 (Mass. App. Ct. 2007). · cites it 4× “” G. L. c. 40B, § 23. At its discretion, the HAC “may allow any person showing that he or she may be substantially and specifically affected by the proceedings to intervene as a party in the whole or in any portion of the proceedings.”
Show all 29 citing cases →
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.