What if we could solve the affordable housing problem of Massachusetts towns with a few strokes of a (free) lawyer’s pen? A pro-business legal group has a new idea and an offer that Bay State local governments cannot refuse.

It’s no secret to residents that the housing is unaffordable to many of their own kids when they graduate from college; to many of our senior citizens after their income-earning years; and to other middle-class folks who might want to join our thriving towns and cities, but end up looking elsewhere, as they find Massachusetts rents simply out of reach. Most solutions to the affordable housing crunch, to date, have relied on a “one-size-fits-all” top-down government fix that doesn’t really fit all, and certainly doesn’t suit the “New England town meeting” way of doing things.

That’s what local government is for, saysThe New England Legal Foundation, a non-partisan, non-profit organization of lawyers based in Boston.

NELF has proposed a market-driven, locally based solution to generate more housing for middle-class people who want to stay or move here. Land developers would be asked (not forced) to include affordable units in new or existing buildings that would otherwise be financially prohibitive for many middle-income people.

We believe that the typical “NIMBY” (Not In My Back Yard) response to affordable housing initiatives in some towns and cities is the result of a few factors, largely addressed by the NELF proposal. The local authorities, informed by the citizenry, get the opportunity to decide how they want to shape zoning rules to allow for additional affordable housing. There’s no mandate to build a certain number of units on any given property or in a town in general; the town government is in control of all the variables.

Secondly, concerns about galloping increases in infrastructure or education expenses can be controlled by smart and smartly informed zoning decisions. Focusing on single renters, couples and senior citizens without young children is permissible, simply by limiting affordable rent additions to studio and one-bedroom units; this will avoid overcrowded schools and limit stress on infrastructure.

How It Would Work

For their part, why would developers step up to volunteer when earlier efforts for voluntary construction of affordable units have fallen flat? The NELF’s Free Market Affordable Rent Zoning model allows developers to earn more money from the same lot size without cumbersome and costly local and state approvals.

Unlike state-mandated affordable housing schemes, the special zoning measures only take effect if and when approved by a town meeting, tailored to the particular needs of that town, so developers are not instantly in an adversarial position to local concerns. Some might limit affordable rental housing only to upper floors of ground-level retail and office uses in town business districts. If you zone it, especially zoning as a matter of right, they will come.

Under the NELF proposal, the maximum rent would be based on an 80/33 formula: start with 80 percent of the annual median income for a given community, and charge renters 33 percent of that amount based on number of bedrooms. In the city of Boston, for example, applying the formula for a one-bedroom apartment, the maximum monthly rent would be $2,508. That’s a lot less than what it might otherwise cost to live there. The formula generates reasonable rents and opens Massachusetts’ arms to young people and seniors who might otherwise be forced to move out of state.

What does the developer or landlord get for this seeming generosity? More density and intensity of housing and thus more income from the same amount of land. Massachusetts’ local governments – with the help of free NELF legal assistance – could devise tailored variations to zoning law that would create affordable units at below-market rents. And Massachusetts businesses would no longer need to pay premium compensation for high costs of housing which in turn puts our businesses at a competitive disadvantage.

The best path to affordable rental units is the free market, voluntary approach, and one controlled by local towns and cities, not by government-imposed rent control or far-off bureaucrats on Beacon Hill. This solution is a perfect example, and we hope New England municipal officials and residents will agree.

NELF is making the information and free legal consultation available throughout New England via theirwebsite, newenglandlegal.org.

Joshua M. Peck is a freelance writer and supporter of the New England Legal Foundation. This op-ed was written in coordination with NELF staff.