Massachusetts Senate Passes Fair Housing Bill Unanimously, Toughening Broker Penalties

BOSTON -- February 12, 2026, The Massachusetts Senate passed a fair housing enforcement bill 38-0 Thursday, advancing legislation that expands broker accountability and mandates new training for real estate licensees. Senate Bill 2947, sponsored by Sen. Adam Gómez of Springfield, expands authority to refer discrimination cases for license suspension beyond the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination to include the attorney general and certified fair housing agencies, raises the minimum suspension for a second offense within two years from 90 days to 180 days, and requires the Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons to publicly name license holders whose licenses are revoked or suspended for fair housing violations. Gómez opened debate by recounting his own experience being turned away from an apartment in casual clothes in 2016 and waved through a month later in a suit, and cited a 2020 Suffolk University Law School and Boston Foundation study finding voucher holders faced discrimination 86 percent of the time when seeking to rent. The chamber adopted three amendments, including a gender-neutral language fix by Sen. Robyn K. Kennedy replacing "salesmen" with "salespersons" throughout the chapter, and a Keenan amendment requiring complaint summaries to be de-identified during deliberations, and rejected a Minority Leader Bruce E. Tarr amendment that would have required municipalities receiving HUD funding to certify annual compliance with federal fair housing law, 6-30.