State May Pass Bill Enabling Condo Conversion Restrictions

Legislation allowing cities and towns to restrict condominium conversion without state interference is expected to receive the endorsement of the State Legislature's Committee on Housing and Urban Development later this week.

Supporters said the bill, sponsored by Cambridge State Senator George Bachrach, was introduced to counteract "the legal roadblock" to action by local governments posed by state provisions that override some laws developed by municipalities.

A spokesman for the Massachusetts Tenants Organization, a leading proponent of the bill, noted that 27 communities have attempted to establish some sort of restrictions since 1980, and that 21 have been hindered by state laws and court rulings Cambridge's anti-condo law has met repeated legal challenges.

The legislation would enable cities and towns to freely adopt ordinances or bylaws for restricting or controlling the conversion of rental housing to condominiums.

Hearings were held on the bill two weeks ago, and the committee will report it out by Wednesday. Aides to Bachrach and opponents of the bill all acknowledge that it will likely receive a favorable report, an important first step in winning passage by the full legislature.

J. Kinney O'Rourke, a spokesman for the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, said yesterday his organization opposes the measure because "regulations for condominium conversion should be uniform." By enabling localities to adopt their own regulations, landlords would have to face the "possibility, if not the reality, of 351 different local programs." he added.

Not only would such variations be inconvenient to the property owners, "it is also unfair to the tenants. There may be too much protection in one community and not enough in another." O'Rourke said.

Patricia Soley, a Bachrach aide, said statewide regulations would be too difficult to enact, and agreed that different communities have different needs in the matter.

The Cambridge City Council originally adopted restrictions on condominium conversion in 1979. Local developers took the case all the way to the state's Supreme Judicial Court, which upheld its specific provisions in 1981. New challenges have since been initiated.