This data, maintained by the Mayor’s Office of Housing (MOH), is an inventory of all income-restricted units in the city. This data includes public housing owned by the Boston Housing Authority (BHA), privately- owned housing built with funding from DND and/or on land that was formerly City-owned, and privately-owned housing built without any City subsidy, e.g., created using Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) or as part of the Inclusionary Development Policy (IDP). Information is gathered from a variety of sources, including the City's IDP list, permitting and completion data from the Inspectional Services Department (ISD), newspaper advertisements for affordable units, Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation’s (CEDAC) Expiring Use list, and project lists from the BHA, the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), MassHousing, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), among others. The data is meant to be as exhaustive and up-to-date as possible, but since many units are not required to report data to the City of Boston, MOH is constantly working to verify and update it. See the data dictionary for more information on the structure of the data and important notes. The database only includes units that have a deed-restriction. It does not include tenant-based (also known as mobile) vouchers, which subsidize rent, but move with the tenant and are not attached to a particular unit. There are over 22,000 tenant-based vouchers in the city of Boston which provide additional affordability to low- and moderate-income households not accounted for here. The Income-Restricted Housing report can be directly accessed here:
https://www.boston.gov/sites/default/files/file/2023/04/Income%20Restricted%20Housing%202022_0.pdf

Learn more about income-restricted housing (as well as other types of affordable housing) here: https://www.boston.gov/affordable-housing-boston#income-restricted

Coastal Risk Screening Tool: Affordable HousingThe affordable housing map allows users to explore what affordable housing in the U.S. could be threatened by sea level rise and coastal flooding in the coming decades, under multiple pollution scenarios. The map allows users to examine affordable housing at risk by state, city, county, congressional district, state legislative district, or zip code.

Click here to check Short-Term Rental Eligibility

Boston's ordinance on short-term rentals is designed to incorporate the growth of the home-share industry into the City's work to create affordable housing for all residents. We want to preserve housing for residents while allowing Bostonians to benefit from this new industry. Starting on on January 1, 2019, short-term rentals in Boston will need to register with the City of Boston.

Eligibility for every unit in the City of Boston is dependant on the following six criteria:

• No affordability covenant restrictions
• Compliance with housing laws and codes
• No violations of laws regarding short-term rental use
• Owner occupied
• Two- or three-family dwelling
• Residential use classification

The Short-Term Rental Eligibility Dataset leverages information, wherever possible, about these criteria. For additional details and information about these criteria, please visit https://www.boston.gov/short-term-rentals.

ABOUT THIS DATASET

In June 2018, a citywide ordinance established new guidelines and regulations for short-term rentals in Boston. Registration opened January 1, 2019. The Short-Term Rental Eligibility Dataset was created to help residents, landlords, and City officials determine whether a property is eligible to be registered as a short-term rental.

The Short-Term Rental Eligibility Dataset currently joins data from the following datasets and is refreshed nightly:

• Live Street Address Management (SAM) Addresses.
• Assessing Online.
• Building and Property Violations
• Problem Properties
• Income-Restricted Properties
• STR Registration Data

HOW TO DETERMINE ELIGIBILITY FOR SHORT-TERM RENTAL REGISTRATION

1. ** Open** the Short-Term Rental Eligibility Dataset. In the dataset's search bar, enter the address of the property you are seeking to register.

2. Find the row containing the correct address and unit of the property you are seeking. This is the information we have for your unit.

3. Look at the columns marked as “Home-Share Eligible,” “Limited-Share Eligible,” and “Owner-Adjacent Eligible.”

   • A “yes” under any of these columns means your unit IS eligible for registration under that short-term rental type. Click here for a description of short-term rental types.
   • A “no” under any of these columns means your unit is NOT eligible for registration under that short-term rental type. Click here for a description of short-term rental types.

4. If your unit has a “yes” under “Home-Share Eligible,” “Limited-Share Eligible,” or “Owner-Adjacent Eligible,” you can register your unit here.

WHY IS MY UNIT LISTED AS “NOT ELIGIBLE”?

If you find that your unit is listed as NOT eligible, and you would like to understand more about why, you can use the Short-Term Rental Eligibility Dataset to learn more. The following columns measure each of the six eligibility criteria in the following ways:

1. No affordability covenant restrictions

   • A “yes” in the “Income Restricted” column tells you that the unit is marked as income restricted and is NOT eligible.
     
     
   • The “Income Restricted” column measures whether the unit is subject to an affordability covenant, as reported by the Department of Neighborhood Development and/or the Boston Planning and Development Agency.
     
     
   • For questions about affordability covenants, contact the Department of Neighborhood Development.
     
     

2. Compliance with housing laws and codes

   • A “yes” in the “Problem Properties” column tells you that this unit is considered a “Problem Property” by the Problem Properties Task Force and is NOT eligible.
     
     
   • Learn more about how “Problem Properties” are defined here.
     
     
   • A “yes” in the “Problem Property Owner” column tells you that the owner of this unit also owns a “Problem Property,” as reported by the Problem Properties Task Force.
     
     
   • Owners with any properties designated as a Problem Property are NOT eligible.
     
     
   • No unit owned by the owner of a “Problem Property” may register a short-term rental.
     
     
   • Learn more about how “Problem Properties” are defined here.
     
     
   • The “Open Violation Count” column tells you how many open violations the unit has. Units with any open violations are NOT eligible. Violations counted include: violations of the sanitary, building, zoning, and fire code; stop work orders; and abatement orders.
     
     
   • NOTE: Violations written before 1/1/19 that are still open will make a unit NOT eligible until these violations are resolved.
     
     
   • If your unit has an open violation, visit these links to appeal your violation(s) or pay your code violation fine(s).
     
     
   • The “Violations in the Last 6 Months” column tells you how many violations the unit has received in the last six months. Units with three or more violations, whether open or closed, are NOT eligible.
     
     
   • NOTE: Only violations written on or after 1/1/19 will count against this criteria.
     
     
   • If your unit has an open violation, visit these links to appeal your violation(s) or pay your code violation fine(s).
     
     
   • How to comply with housing laws and codes:
     
     
   • Have an open violation? Visit these links to appeal your violation(s) or pay your code violation fine(s).
     
     
   • Have questions about problem properties? Visit Neighborhood Service’s Problem Properties site.
     
     

3. No violations of laws regarding short-term rental use

   • A “yes” in the “Legally Restricted” column tells you that there is a complaint against the unit that finds

     • A legal restriction that prohibits the use of the unit as a Short-Term Rental under local, state, or federal law, OR

     • legal restriction that prohibits the use of the unit as a Short-Term Rental under condominium bylaws.

     • Units with legal restrictions found upon investigation are NOT eligible.
       
       

     • If the investigation of a complaint against the unit yields restrictions of the nature detailed above, we will mark the unit with a “yes” in this column. Until such complaint-based investigations begin, all units are marked with “no.”
       
       

     • NOTE: Currently no units have a “legally restricted” designation.
       
       

4. Owner-occupied

   • A “no” in the “Unit Owner-Occupied” column tells you that there is NO Residential Tax Exemption filed for that unit via the Assessing Department, and that unit is automatically categorized as NOT eligible for the following Short-Term Rental types:

     • Home-Share
     • Limited-Share
       
       
     • Residential Tax Exemption indicates that a unit is owner-occupied and generates a “yes” in the “Unit Owner-Occupied” column.
       
       

     • Owners are not required to file a Residential Tax Exemption in order to be eligible to register a unit as a Short-Term Rental.
       
       

     • If you would like to apply for Residential Tax Exemption, you can apply here.
       
       

     • If you are the owner-occupant of a unit and you have not filed for Residential Tax Exemption, you can still register your unit by proving owner-occupancy.
       

     • It is recommended that you submit proof of residency in your short-term rental registration application to expedite the process of proving owner-occupancy (see

The Low-Income Energy Affordability Data (LEAD) Tool was created by the Better Building's Clean Energy for Low Income Communities Accelerator (CELICA) to help state and local partners understand housing and energy characteristics for the low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities they serve. The LEAD Tool provides estimated LMI household energy data based on income, energy expenditures, fuel type, housing type, and geography, which stakeholders can use to make data-driven decisions when planning for their energy goals. From the LEAD Tool website, users can also create and download customized heat-maps and charts for various geographies, housing, energy characteristics, and population demographics and educational attainment.

Datasets are available for 50 states plus Puerto Rico and Washington D.C., along with their cities, counties, and census tracts, as well as tribal areas. The file below, "01. Description of Files," provides a list of all files included in this dataset. A description of the abbreviations and units used in the LEAD Tool data can be found in the file below titled "02. Data Dictionary 2022". A list of geographic regions used in the LEAD Tool can be found in files 04-11.

The Low-Income Energy Affordability Data comes primarily from the 2022 U.S. Census American Community Survey 5-Year Public Use Microdata Samples and is calibrated to 2022 U.S. Energy Information Administration electric utility (Survey Form-861) and natural gas utility (Survey Form-176) data. The methodology for the LEAD Tool can viewed below (3. Methodology Document).

For more information, and to access the interactive LEAD Tool platform, please visit the "10. LEAD Tool Platform" resource link below.

For more information on the Better Building's Clean Energy for Low Income Communities Accelerator (CELICA), please visit the "11. CELICA Website" resource below.

Conventional, FHA, VA, and USDA mortgage loan limits for Franklin County in 2025. Includes limits for 1-4 unit properties and historical data.

Explore borrowing and mortgage trends in Franklin County, including conventional vs. government loan performance, average loan sizes, and market share shifts. Data sourced from HMDA regulatory filings shows how local lending patterns evolve through changing market conditions.

The map was developed using available parcel polygons attributed with tax assessment data as of project initiation in early 2020, Computer-Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) data dated February 2020, and the Chesapeake Bay Program’s 2017/18 Land Use Land Cover data (2022 edition), subsequently referred to as “CBP LULC.” The map also incorporates land use datasets provided by county and municipal jurisdictions to the extent possible while maintaining standard statewide classification definitions and rules. The product was developed to be consistent with the 2018 National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery and CBP LULC dataset. MDP’s draft updated land use classification scheme is available as a separate document. This product is a beta release for public use and further testing. Methods for developing subsequent releases beyond this 2018 baseline will be refined based on feedback from the user community. Urban Land Uses 11 Low-density residential - Detached single-family/duplex dwelling units, yards, and associated areas. Includes generalized areas with lot sizes of less than five acres but at least one-half acre (0.2 to 2 dwelling units/acre). 12 Medium-density residential - Detached single-family/duplex, attached single-unit row housing, yards, and associated areas Includes generalized areas with lot sizes of less than one-half acre but at least one-eighth acre (2 to 8 dwelling units/acre). 13 High-density residential - Attached single-unit row housing, garden apartments, high-rise apartments/condominiums, mobile home and trailer parks, yards, and associated areas. Includes generalized areas with more than eight dwelling units per acre. This may include subsidized housing. 14 Commercial - Retail and wholesale services. Areas used primarily for the sale of products and services, including associated yards and parking areas. This category may include airports, welcome houses, telecommunication towers, and boat marinas. 15 Industrial - Manufacturing and industrial parks, including associated warehouses, storage yards, research laboratories, and parking areas. Warehouses that are returned by a commercial query should be categorized as industrial. This also includes power plants. 16 Institutional - Elementary and secondary schools, middle schools, junior and senior high schools, public and private colleges and universities, military installations (built-up areas only, including buildings and storage, training, and similar areas), churches, medical and health facilities, correctional facilities, government offices and facilities that are clearly separable from any surrounding natural or agricultural land cover, and other non-profit uses. 17 Extractive - Surface mining operations, including sand and gravel pits, quarries, coal surface mines, and deep coal mines. Status of activity (active vs. abandoned) is not distinguished. 18 Open urban land - Includes parks, open spaces, recreational areas not classified as institutional, golf courses, and cemeteries. Includes only built-up and turf-dominated areas that are clearly separable from any surrounding natural or agricultural land cover. 190 – Very Low Density Residential – Clustered residential parcels that have lot sizes less than 20 acres but at least five acres (0.2 to 0.05 dwelling units/acre) 50 – Water 80 Transportation - Transportation features include impervious roads, roadway rights-of-way, and parcels primarily containing light rail or metro stations and park-and-ride lots. 99 – Other Land - Remaining land not covered under another category. Examples include but are not limited to unbuilt lots, rural land, single-family residential parcels greater than or equal to 20 acres in size, and undeveloped portions of large parcels containing urban uses. May include undeveloped land that is either developable or constrained from further development.Note: Urban Land Use classifications encompass the entire parcel on parcels less than five acres that contain a structure as of 2018 based on the Maryland Department of Planning and Maryland State Department of Assessment and Taxation’s Computer-Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) Building dataset. Elsewhere, the Chesapeake Bay Program’s 2017/18 Land Use Land Cover dataset (2022 edition) is used to delineate the extent of development on a parcel. For more information, see Methodology Documentation.Feature Service Link: https://mdgeodata.md.gov/imap/rest/services/PlanningCadastre/MD_LandUse/MapServer/1This copy has been projected to "WGS 1984 Web Mercator (auxiliary sphere)" and, therefore, is for illustrative purposes only. To use the data for geospatial analysis or area calculations, please download the copy projected to "NAD_1983 StatePlane Maryland FIPS 1900" from MDP's website at https://planning.maryland.gov/pages/ourproducts/downloadfiles.aspx.