Texas Lawmakers Signal More Housing Affordability Reforms Ahead

Estimated Time to Read: 8 minutes

Housing affordability remains one of the defining policy challenges facing Texas. As population growth continues to outpace housing production, lawmakers are increasingly focusing on reducing government-imposed barriers that make it more difficult and expensive to build new homes. That discussion took center stage Monday when the Texas House Committee on Land & Resource Management held an interim hearing to review implementation of several housing reforms enacted during the 89th Legislature while exploring additional policies that could improve housing affordability before the 90th Legislature convenes in January 2027.

The hearing also demonstrated that housing affordability has become a leadership priority for the Texas House. Following the meeting, House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) reaffirmed that lawmakers intend to continue building on last session's reforms by identifying "new opportunities to make homeownership more affordable and attainable across our state." He specifically highlighted efforts to increase the supply of starter homes, curb local regulations that drive up housing costs, and improve transparency and efficiency within local government.

Those priorities closely mirrored the committee's discussion.

Among the legislation reviewed were House Bill 24 (HB 24), Senate Bill 15 (SB 15), Senate Bill 840 (SB 840), and Senate Bill 1567 (SB 1567), four reforms designed to reduce unnecessary regulatory barriers affecting housing development. Texas Policy Research (TPR) supported each measure during the legislative session because they advanced free enterprise, strengthened private property rights, and limited unnecessary government interference in the housing market.

Perhaps the most significant takeaway was not simply what lawmakers reviewed, but what comes next. The conversation has already shifted from debating whether housing reform is necessary to determining how existing reforms are being implemented and what additional barriers to housing construction remain.

Housing Supply and Local Control Take Center Stage

Throughout the hearing, lawmakers and invited witnesses consistently returned to a simple economic reality: housing affordability ultimately depends on housing supply.

While inflation, labor shortages, financing costs, and material prices all contribute to rising home prices, government regulation also plays a significant role. Zoning restrictions, lengthy permitting timelines, excessive parking requirements, discretionary approvals, impact fees, and other local regulations all increase development costs before construction ever begins.

The reforms adopted during the 89th Legislature reflected a market-oriented approach to addressing those challenges. Rather than relying on taxpayer-funded subsidy programs, lawmakers sought to remove government-created barriers that limit private investment and housing production. When builders have greater flexibility to respond to market demand, competition increases, housing supply expands, and affordability improves over time.

That philosophy, however, remains the subject of ongoing debate between state lawmakers and local governments.

Officials from the cities of Plano, Arlington, and Grand Prairie testified that they support expanding housing opportunities while maintaining local standards that protect neighborhood quality of life. They argued cities should be viewed as partners, not adversaries, and defended ordinances governing issues such as landscaping, parking, building design, amenities, and open space requirements. Other witnesses disagreed, arguing that some municipal ordinances adopted before the Legislature's reforms continue to preserve many of the same practical barriers lawmakers intended to remove. While local governments may technically comply with state law, critics questioned whether some local regulations remain inconsistent with the Legislature's broader objective of increasing housing supply through regulatory reform.

That discussion highlighted what may become one of the defining policy questions heading into the 90th Legislature: how should Texas balance legitimate local planning authority with the state's interest in removing regulations that unnecessarily increase housing costs?

The Foundation for Reform

Much of the hearing focused on implementation of four major housing reforms adopted during the 89th Legislature.

House Bill 24, authored by State Rep. Angelia Orr (R-Itasca), modernized municipal zoning procedures by reforming zoning protest requirements and improving public notice procedures for residential zoning changes. Senate Bill 15, authored by State Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), reduced restrictive minimum lot size and development standards that often limit single-family housing construction. Senate Bill 840, authored by State Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola), streamlined approval of qualifying mixed-use and multifamily redevelopment projects and became the central focus of discussion regarding municipal implementation. Senate Bill 1567, also authored by Bettencourt, established objective occupancy standards in certain municipalities while preventing arbitrary occupancy restrictions based on familial relationships.

Although each bill addressed different aspects of local land use regulation, they shared a common objective: reducing unnecessary regulatory barriers that limit housing development while preserving legitimate health and safety protections.

Taken together, the legislation represented one of the Legislature's most significant efforts in recent years to modernize Texas land use policy and improve housing affordability through regulatory reform.

What Comes Next for Housing Reform

While lawmakers generally viewed last session's reforms as meaningful progress, testimony made clear that additional work remains. Committee members spent considerable time examining local development fees, including impact fees, utility connection charges, inspection costs, drainage requirements, and other municipal assessments that increase development costs. Questions were raised about whether sufficient transparency exists regarding how those fees are calculated and whether they remain appropriately tied to the actual cost of providing public infrastructure.

Permitting efficiency also received significant attention. Witnesses discussed continuing delays associated with subdivision approvals, engineering reviews, utility coordination, and administrative permitting, even where state law has reduced municipal discretion. The committee also reviewed implementation of recent legislation authorizing third-party review of subdivision plats and permitting documents, with testimony suggesting those reforms have improved efficiency but could be further refined.

Perhaps the most forward-looking discussion involved residential building plan preapproval. Lawmakers explored whether municipalities should establish standardized processes allowing qualifying residential building plans to receive advance approval before individual development applications are submitted. Supporters argued such a system could significantly reduce permitting timelines, lower administrative costs, improve predictability for builders, and accelerate housing production while maintaining appropriate safety standards.

Collectively, these discussions suggest the next phase of housing reform may focus less on broad zoning changes and more on improving the efficiency, predictability, and transparency of the development process.

Housing Affordability Requires Broader Structural Reform

While Monday's hearing focused primarily on housing supply and land use regulation, housing affordability extends well beyond zoning policy. The overall cost of owning or renting a home is influenced by taxes, regulation, local government spending, infrastructure costs, and the broader cost of doing business in Texas.

That broader philosophy is reflected in Texas Policy Research's Texas Liberty Compact, our legislative agenda for restoring self-government, accountability, and liberty in Texas. Several priorities within the Texas Liberty Compact directly support long-term affordability.

Reducing unnecessary regulation remains one of the most effective ways to lower the cost of housing construction. Every unnecessary permitting delay, duplicative review, discretionary approval, or outdated regulation increases development costs that are ultimately passed on to future homeowners and renters. Likewise, eliminating property taxes would address one of the largest recurring costs associated with homeownership. Property taxes affect not only homeowners but renters as well, as landlords necessarily incorporate those costs into lease rates. Replacing Texas' property tax system with a less distortionary form of taxation would improve long-term affordability while strengthening private property rights.

The Texas Liberty Compact also calls for limiting local spending and debt, modernizing the Texas code, ending taxpayer-funded lobbying, and eliminating unnecessary regulations that increase the cost of living. Together, these reforms seek to reduce the financial burden government places on Texas families while allowing free enterprise and private investment to respond more effectively to housing demand.

The housing reforms adopted during the 89th Legislature represent an important part of that broader vision, but lasting affordability will require continued attention to both housing policy and the overall cost of government.

Policy Implications for the 90th Texas Legislature

Monday's hearing demonstrated that housing affordability will remain one of the defining policy issues of the 90th Texas Legislature.

House Speaker Dustin Burrows has already signaled that expanding housing supply, improving transparency, increasing permitting efficiency, and reducing local regulations that unnecessarily increase housing costs will remain priorities for House leadership. The committee's discussion suggests lawmakers are no longer debating whether housing reform should continue. Instead, they are identifying the next opportunities to remove barriers that constrain housing development and homeownership.

For Texas Policy Research, those efforts should remain grounded in the principles of limited government and free enterprise. Housing affordability is best improved by expanding opportunities for private investment, protecting private property rights, reducing unnecessary regulation, and exercising fiscal restraint rather than creating new subsidy programs or expanding bureaucracy. The work of improving affordability also extends beyond housing policy itself. Reducing regulatory burdens, limiting government spending, modernizing outdated laws, and ultimately eliminating property taxes all contribute to lowering the cost of living for Texas families.

The reforms adopted during the 89th Legislature established an important foundation, but they should be viewed as the beginning of a broader effort to restore affordability across Texas. That vision is reflected in the Texas Liberty Compact, which recognizes that making homeownership more attainable requires not only building more homes, but also reducing the tax and regulatory burdens that make living in Texas more expensive. By continuing to pursue those reforms, lawmakers have an opportunity during the 90th Legislature to strengthen free enterprise, protect private property rights, and ensure that Texas remains one of the most affordable places in the nation to live, work, and own a home.

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