AN ACT RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- MULTIFAMILY HOUSING ACT (Requires single-family residential zoning in municipalities with populations of over forty-thousand (40,000) to allow middle housing and mandates that those municipalities adopt zoning regulations for middle housing.)

S2272

2026 -- S 2272
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
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A N A C T
RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- MULTIFAMILY HOUSING ACT

Introduced By:
Senators Mack, Bissaillon, and Kallman

Date Introduced:
January 23, 2026

Referred To:
Senate Housing & Municipal Government
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
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SECTION 1. Title 45 of the General Laws entitled "TOWNS AND CITIES" is hereby
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amended by adding thereto the following chapter:
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CHAPTER 24.8
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MULTIFAMILY HOUSING ACT
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45-24.8-1. Short title.

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This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Multifamily Housing Act".
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45-24.8-2. Legislative purpose.

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It is the purpose of this chapter to encourage the development of higher-density, mixed use,
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and walkable urban communities. Guaranteeing a right for new construction in urban areas at a
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base density of at least two (2) units per parcel would reduce the use of automobiles and create
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development of middle housing within areas formerly zoned as single-family areas.
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45-24.8-3. Definitions.

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As used in this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:
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(1) "Cottage clusters" means groupings of no fewer than four (4) detached housing units
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per acre with a footprint of less than nine hundred square feet (900 sq. ft. ) each, that include a
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common courtyard.
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(2) "Middle housing" means duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, cottage clusters and
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townhouses.
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(3) "Townhouse" means a dwelling unit constructed in a row of two (2) or more attached

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units, where each dwelling unit is located on an individual lot or parcel and shares at least one
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common wall with an adjacent unit.
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(4) "Urban growth boundary" means and refers to rules that designate what areas can and
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cannot be developed around a city center.
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45-24.8-4. Permissible middle housing.

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(a) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, any property within a municipality
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with a population of forty-thousand (40,000) or more, is hereby permitted to be developed as
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follows:
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(1) All middle housing types in areas zoned for residential use that allow for the
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development of detached single-family dwellings;
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(2) A duplex on each lot or parcel zoned for residential use that allows for development of
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detached single-family dwellings; and
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(3) A duplex on each lot parcel zoned for residential use that allows for the development
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of detached single-family dwellings.
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(b) Nothing in this section prohibits a local governing body from allowing other types of
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middle housing in addition to duplexes.
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(c) This section does not apply to municipalities with a population of less than forty-
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thousand (40,000); lands not within an urban growth boundary; lands not zoned for residential use,
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including lands primarily zoned as commercial, industrial, agricultural; those lands used for public
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uses or, lands zoned under an interim zoning designation that maintains the land's potential for
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planned urban development.
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(d) Local governing bodies may regulate site and design of middle housing required to be
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permitted under this section; provided that, regulations do not, individually or cumulatively,
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discourage the development of all middle housing types permitted in the area through unreasonable
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costs or delay. Local governing bodies may regulate middle housing to comply with protective
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measures adopted pursuant to statewide land use planning goals and the municipalities'
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comprehensive plan.
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(e) This section does not prohibit local governing bodies from permitting:
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(1) Single-family dwellings in areas zoned to allow for single-family dwellings; or
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(2) Middle housing in areas not required under this section.
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(f) The state building code standards committee shall develop a model middle housing
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ordinance no later than December 31, 2026.
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(g) Any municipality may designate zones that exempts the property within the subject
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zones from compliance with this section. Any property exempted from compliance with this section

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is subject to a one percent (1%) exclusionary zoning transactional fee. Said fee shall be remitted to
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Rhode Island housing in support of affordable housing grant programs.
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SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- MULTIFAMILY HOUSING ACT
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This act would require single-family residential zoning in municipalities with populations
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of over forty-thousand (40,000) to allow middle housing and mandate that those municipalities
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adopt zoning regulations for middle housing.
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This act would take effect upon passage.
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