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H1489 • 2025

An Act creating the tenant’s escrow accounts

An Act creating the tenant’s escrow accounts

Housing
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
David F. DeCoste
Last action
2026-04-13
Official status
Accompanied a study order, see H5352 (under House Rule 27)
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act creating the tenant’s escrow accounts

An Act creating the tenant’s escrow accounts By Representative DeCoste of Norwell, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.

What This Bill Does

  • An Act creating the tenant’s escrow accounts By Representative DeCoste of Norwell, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
  • 1489) of David F.
  • DeCoste for legislation to establish a savings program to assist rental tenants in the purchase of a home.
  • Housing.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-13 House

    Accompanied a study order, see H5352 (under House Rule 27)

  2. 2025-11-07 Joint

    Hearing scheduled for 11/19/2025 from 11:00 AM-05:00 PM in Gardner Auditorium

  3. 2025-02-27 House

    Referred to the committee on Housing

  4. 2025-02-27 Senate

    Senate concurred

  5. House

    Reported by committee to Clerk’s Office for processing, will accompany a study order

Official Summary Text

An Act creating the tenant’s escrow accounts
By Representative DeCoste of Norwell, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1489) of David F. DeCoste for legislation to establish a savings program to assist rental tenants in the purchase of a home. Housing.

Current Bill Text

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Bill H.1489

SECTION 1.

The executive office of housing and livable communities shall develop a savings program to assist rental tenants in the purchase of a home to be called tenant’s escrow accounts. The tenant’s escrow accounts shall allow for the voluntary contribution of a portion of a tenant’s rent to be contributed to the account. Said contribution may only be withdrawn by a tenant for use towards the down-payment on the purchase of a home.

SECTION 2 Funds contributed by landlords pursuant to section 1 shall be matched by the commonwealth.

SECTION 3. A landlord contributing to a tenant’s escrow account may deduct an amount equal to three times the amount of the contribution from the net amount of the annual taxable income payable by the landlord to the commonwealth.

SECTION 4. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Tenant’s Escrow Fund. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, contributions from landlords to tenant’s escrow accounts and matching contributions from the commonwealth shall be credited to the fund. The Fund shall not be subject to section 5C of chapter 29 of the General Laws.

SECTION 5. The executive office of housing and livable communities shall promulgate regulations in accordance with this act, shall provide for the option for contributions to be restricted by a landlord for the sole use of his tenant or, for a general contribution to be made available to tenants who meet certain eligibility requirements as determined by the executive office; provided that the secretary shall submit any proposed regulations to the joint committee on housing and the house and senate committees on ways and means at least 30 days before their adoption by the department.

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