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Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell took nine towns to court Thursday, launching the first enforcement action under a contentious state housing law aimed at unlocking space for multifamily development near public transit.

The Mass 9 Towns housing lawsuit, filed in Suffolk County Superior Court, accuses the municipalities of ignoring a state mandate to modernize zoning rules to allow denser housing as of right in at least one area of their communities.

Towns Accused of Defying State Law

The defendants — Dracut, East Bridgewater, Halifax, Holden, Marblehead, Middleton, Tewksbury, Wilmington and Winthrop — allegedly failed to revise their zoning bylaws to permit multifamily housing in compliance with the MBTA Communities Act, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of a January 2025 ruling by the Supreme Judicial Court that made clear compliance with the statute is mandatory, not optional.

A Law Born of a Housing Crunch

In its filing, the attorney general’s office framed the case against the backdrop of a deepening housing shortage.

“The commonwealth faces a housing crisis, which is a major cause of the state’s high cost of living,” the complaint states, warning that a limited housing supply has pushed Massachusetts out of reach for many residents — particularly working families, people with disabilities and groups historically shut out of homeownership.

177 Communities Under the Spotlight

Altogether, 177 cities and towns are subject to the MBTA Communities Act. The law applies to municipalities served by, or located near communities served by, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, which operates much of eastern Massachusetts’ transit network.

The measure, enacted in 2021, requires affected communities to either update their zoning to allow multifamily housing by right or demonstrate that existing rules already meet the law’s standards.

Court Battles and a Clear Signal

The law has stirred fierce opposition, especially in suburban and rural towns beyond Greater Boston. Several communities — including Milton — previously challenged the statute, arguing that the only penalty for noncompliance should be the loss of certain state grants, a consequence they said they were willing to accept.

The Supreme Judicial Court rejected that argument, ruling that adherence to the law is compulsory and confirming the attorney general’s authority to enforce it through litigation.

Missed Deadlines, Court-Ordered Fixes

According to the complaint, the nine towns failed to submit documentation by July 14, 2025, showing they had brought their zoning into compliance.

Campbell’s office is now asking the court to order each municipality to amend its zoning bylaws to meet the statute’s requirements.