Tackling Texas’ housing crisis: Possible legislative reforms for 2025

DALLAS – Texas faces a severe housing shortage, with an estimated deficit of 320,000 homes, as rapid economic growth has driven up home prices and rents. State lawmakers are preparing to address the crisis in the upcoming legislative session, with proposals spanning zoning reform, property tax cuts, and support for affordable housing. Key measures include:

Zoning Reforms:

• Relaxing regulations to allow for more accessory dwelling units.
• Reducing minimum lot-size requirements to encourage smaller, affordable homes.
• Permitting residential development in commercially zoned areas and converting vacant offices into housing.
• Revisiting rules that limit denser housing types, like duplexes and townhomes, in single-family neighborhoods.

Streamlining Development: Easing the process for rezoning and development approval by reducing the power of neighbor objections and expediting permitting.

Affordable Housing Initiatives: Providing incentives to build homes for low-income families and identify public land for affordable housing projects.

Curbing Institutional Investors: Exploring restrictions on corporate home purchases, which some argue inflate housing prices.

Challenges to these reforms include opposition from homeowners, local governments, and debates over state versus city authority. While housing advocates emphasize the urgency of the crisis, the Legislature remains divided on how far reforms should go.