This Weeks Big, Beautiful... Texas Housing Bills
- Jonathan Berk
- May 28
- 3 min read
Updated: May 29
In a week dominated by talk of "big, beautiful bills," the Texas' Legislature has been busy sending a slew of bills to the Governor's desk aimed at unlocking housing production across the State. Let's take a quick glimpse at what moved in Texas. Special thanks to Texans for Reasonable Solutions for their extensive coverage of floor debates and bill movement this week and their tireless work rallying pro-housing voices from all political affiliations across Texas to push their legislators to support these needed reforms.
"Texas lawmakers stepped up this session because the alternative was frightfully clear: keep stalling, and we get California housing prices, a middle-class escape and a business exodus," said Nicole Nosek of Texans for Reasonable Solutions.
SB 840, Residential in commercial zones
This bill is designed to address housing shortages by facilitating the conversion of underutilized office, industrial and retail buildings into residential or mixed-use developments, by-right.
Applicability: The bill applies to any City with a population over 150,000 in a county of more than 300,000.
Preemption: The bill preempts local restrictions on what can be built in these districts, stating that they cannot impose a;
density restriction of less than 36 units per acre,
parking requirements over 1 per unit,
setbacks over 25', and
unreasonable height restrictions.
SB 2835: Single-stair reform
A bipartisan, bicameral, effort led by Senators Nathan Johnson and Representative James Talarico, SB 2835 provides a more streamlined process for municipalities to update their applicable building codes to allow for single-stair buildings up to 6-floors with no more than 4-units per floor. Any community that adopts the standard suite of amendments to the building code would automatically adopt single-stair reform as well.
The updated code incorporates increased fire-safety requirements for buildings that take advantage of the opportunity to build a single-stair building including installation of an advanced sprinkler system and higher fire resistance ratings on the existing stairwell.
There has been extensive research on single-stair reform efforts ongoing across North America right now, with some great research produced by Pew Trusts diving into the opportunities presented by these reforms and answering some of the safety concerns expressed by skeptics.
HB 24: 'Defangs' an old law that offers a low threshold for abutter appeals.
A Jim Crow-era state law complicates new development approvals in cities if a sufficient number of neighbors oppose. If a developer wants to rezone a property and 20% of adjacent landowners object, a supermajority is required from the city council to approve the zoning change. The bill passed the chamber with an 83-56 vote, supported by a majority of both Republicans and Democrats, and now moves to the Senate, which has already passed a similar bill.
SB 15: Starter Homes in New Neighborhoods
SB 15 would prohibit major cities from mandating that homes in new subdivisions occupy more than 1,400 square feet for townhome and 'starter' single family home developments. A house revision upped this to 3,000 square feet and will have to be reconciled with the Senate's version. According to a Texas Tribune analysis, the largest cities in the state typically require single-family homes to be situated on approximately 5,000 to 7,500 square feet of land. The bill would only apply to 19 of the states largest cities.
This bill, championed by both Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate, was a priority bill for Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (R) stating, "our state faces a shortfall of 306,000 homes. Local regulations and permitting issues are stifling our housing supply, rendering our communities unable to meet present and future growth... The Senate Committee on Local Government has risen to the task of finding ways to slash housing regulations and help Texas meet the ever-increasing demand for affordable housing. SB 15, along with more legislation to come, will make a huge difference in allowing countless Texans to pursue the American dream."
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Jonathan Berk is an urbanist, placemaker, housing advocate, and the founder of reMAIN, a platform dedicated to advancing the development of missing middle housing in pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods. This platform supports the creation of infill housing by collaborating directly with municipalities, connecting strategic development sites with local developers and new funding sources, and helping communities achieve their stated housing objectives.
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