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Handbook Cites Red Tape as One Barrier to Affordable Homes
Reducing red tape and other regulatory barriers to housing is one of six broad strategies that state and local leaders can use to begin increasing the availability of homes that working families can afford, according to a handbook released last week by Homes for Working Families in conjunction with the Center for Housing Policy's latest research on housing affordability for the nation’s working families.
State and local initiatives can help fill the gaps left by federal policies that may not be flexible enough to meet local needs, according to the publication, “Increasing the Availability of Affordable Housing."
“In order to target limited federal funds to families with the most severe needs, federal funding for the construction, operation, rental or purchase of affordable homes tends to be directed to families at the lower end of the income spectrum,” the book says. “While these rules may make sense at the national level, in some ‘high-cost’ markets where homes are expensive relative to the national average, they can leave out significant numbers of families with pressing needs.”
The handbook also observes that states and localities “can help reduce the inequities associated with federal tax policies that support homeownership, which tend to benefit families with relatively higher incomes, providing only modest support (or no support at all) to working families with moderate incomes. Many working families who own homes do not benefit from the mortgage interest deduction because their itemized deductions are less than the standard deduction.”
Among the recommended approaches to reduce regulatory obstacles to affordable housing are: ensuring that zoning policies support a diversity of housing types; adopting expedited permitting and review policies; revising impact fee structures; and adopting building codes that facilitate the rehabilitation of existing homes.
“In the housing development world, time is money,” the handbook notes. “The longer it takes to gain necessary approvals to build a home and the more uncertainty involved in the approval process, the higher the costs of newly built or renovated homes.
“By expediting the approval proves for affordable homes and addressing other regulatory barriers that drive up costs — such as overly restrictive zoning rules and building codes, and regressive fees — state and local governments can cut through the red tape and expand the supply of affordable housing.”
In all, the handbook identifies 22 high-impact policies in six strategic areas, and examples of how those policies have been successfully applied in specific locations are included.
In addition to regulation, recommendations are made in these policy areas:
- Expanding the availability of sites for the development of affordable homes
- Harnessing the power of strong housing markets
- Generating additional capital for affordable homes
- Preserving and recycling resources for affordable homes
- Empowering residents to purchase and retain market-rate homes
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