Texas Democrats and Republicans may be approaching a bipartisan consensus on how to tackle the state’s housing affordability crisis at a time when a majority of Texans say they spend too much money on keeping a roof over their heads.that includes calls to relax local zoning regulations that determine what kinds of housing can be built and where.
State lawmakers and policymakers across Texas cities have increasingly sought ways to rein in the state’s housing costs as high home prices freeze would-be homebuyers out of the market and tenants struggle to pay high rents. By various counts, Texas doesn’t have enough homes to absorb demand amid the state’s booming population growth — and that shortage has contributed to elevated home prices and rents.
, which shows that nearly two-thirds of Texans, homeowners and renters alike, say they spend too much on housing — compared with 44% of Texans four years ago. That appeal not only applies to the notion of lowering housing costs. Conservatives like the idea of loosening zoning rules to reduce government regulations and free up the market while also boosting individual property rights.
Opposition to zoning reform, too, is bipartisan. Republicans and Democrats alike count among their ranks Texans who have cultural attachments to the long-held notion of owning a single-family home on a large lot — and view efforts to allow other kinds of housing in their neighborhoods as an affront.