The California state legislature has done everything in its power to legalize accessory dwelling units. A new lawsuit probes whether it's done enough.
Democrats' HEROES Act is mostly about messaging. And it sends all the wrong messages on housing.
Giving renters direct assistance is a better idea than rent cancelation, but that's not saying much.
Rent strikes and calls for rent cancellation proliferate across the country.
The coronavirus shutdown might alter buying patterns, as more people flee tightly packed cities for suburban, exurban, and rural areas.
The Minnesota congresswoman's proposal to cancel rents and mortgages during the coronavirus pandemic is both wildly impractical and constitutionally dubious.
The feds pushed cities to implement zoning restrictions. High prices and social inequality were the inevitable results.
Alexandria, Virginia, is the latest city to entertain demands to cancel rent payments during the current pandemic.
And they are taking full advantage of the opportunity
Yes, tenants are losing their jobs because of the COVID-19 shutdown, but forcing businesses to provide services for free would have a ripple effect.
Sen. Mike Gianaris (D–Queens) argues eviction moratoriums don't go far enough to protect renters who've been put out of a job because of the virus.
The new rule would ask localities receiving federal funding to report on their housing market outcomes and propose concrete steps for improving affordability.
Emergency measures can easily become routine policy.
State legislators want to allow duplexes statewide and eliminate local governments' ability to impose aesthetic design requirements.
State lawmakers want to override local zoning codes to let churches and other nonprofits build affordable housing on their own land.
The city's voters, politicians, and activists should stop trying to dictate how exactly their city will change over the years. They’re not very good at it.
The new money will be consumed in a bureaucratic hiring frenzy, used to pay state-level salaries and pensions, and build a bigger "homeless industrial complex."
Local activists have argued that the housing officials in charge of reviewing the Suffolk Downs mega-development has violated residents' civil rights by not translating enough planning documents into Spanish, Arabic
Land use regulation is making cities unaffordable. In an unfettered market, how would Americans choose to live?
California lawmakers have introduced legislation to cap impact fees, change the way they are assessed, and give developers more tools to claw back unjustified charges.
Two non-profit groups argued that developers had been improperly awarded a building permit for a 112-unit condo building on Manhattan's Upper West Side.
A previous version of the tax was repealed a month after it was passed in 2018.
City reports and industry find taxes, regulation, and permitting delays are often a bigger drag on small businesses than rising rents.
Mayor London Breed's Affordable Homes Now initiative would streamline the approval of code-compliant housing projects as long as developers include additional affordable units.
Brokers and building owners are vowing to fight a regulation they say will be catastrophic for their industry.
Gil Cedillo, city councilmember, has introduced a motion asking the city to study its options for seizing the 124-unit Hillside Villa.
The new initiative from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation would allow local governments to go beyond the state's existing caps on rent increases.
SB 50 would have legalized mid-rise apartments near transit stops and employment centers. State lawmakers felt it went too far and/or not far enough.
New York told landlords they couldn't pass along renovation costs, so landlords stopped doing renovations
A new article argues unconvincingly that the sprawling Texas metro is less affordable than ultra-expensive New York City after accounting for higher transportation costs and lower incomes.
A group of homeless mothers moved into an Oakland, California, home they didn't own.
But the underlying problems remain unaddressed.
New York City has failed to zone for enough housing to keep pace with growth.
And it might make housing more affordable in many places. Conservative NIMBYs should not stand in the way.
Del. Vaughn Stewart (D–Montgomery County) says a mix of new private and public housing is needed to combat Maryland's housing affordability problems.
Despite amendments to make the bill more palatable to local governments and community activists, Sen. Scott Wiener's (D–San Francisco) SB 50 faces an uphill battle.
The Trump administration's proposed rewrite of fair housing regulations would ditch lengthy Obama-era reporting requirements in favor of a laserlike focus on housing affordability.
The legislation would allow duplexes on any residential plot in the state.
Many jurisdictions are alleviating housing shortgages by cutting back on zoning. Unfortunately, there is also a trend towards expanding rent control, which is likely to have the opposite effect.
NIMBYism has dominated housing policy for the last ten years. Will the 2020s be any better?
Joey Mucha wanted to convert his warehouse into a restaurant, bar, and arcade. Then community activists intervened.
The Ninth Circuit says no, and the Supreme Court isn't weighing in.
