Six Housing Bills to Watch in Upcoming 89th Texas Legislative Session

Texas lawmakers return to Austin on Jan. 14, and they’re not wasting any time filing bills related to housing, permitting, and land use. 

Bill filing began Nov. 12, with more than 1,500 bills submitted on the first filing day, compared to about 900 in 2022. 

On the local level, Dallas recently lost its longtime Director of Legislative Affairs Carrie Rogers, who followed some of her former colleagues, including City Manager T.C. Broadnax, Deputy City Manager Jon Fortune, and Police Chief Eddie Garcia, to Austin. Government Affairs Manager Jake Anderson was tapped to take over Rogers’ role in the interim while a search is conducted. 

The Dallas City Council adopted its legislative programs for the 89th session in October. The City’s Legislative Affairs Office filed this briefing paper on Nov. 15, noting legislation that the City Council has flagged as high-priority.   

Senate Bill 234 – Workforce Housing

Sen. Nathan Johnson (D-Dallas) was among the first to file bills on opening day. One that caught our attention is Senate Bill 234, relating to workforce housing. 

“It is estimated that Texas is short approximately 300,000 housing units to meet the demand of a growing workforce,” Johnson wrote in an email to CandysDirt.com. “Scarcity of housing for essential workers is driving prices up at all levels of affordability. This bill would incentivize private sector construction of hundreds of thousands of workforce housing units through low-interest mezzanine financing, similar to that employed in the Texas Energy Fund.”

House Bill 369 – Number of Dwellings on a Property 

Sponsored by Rep. Carl Tepper (R-Lubbock), House Bill 369 relates to the authority of a municipality to regulate the number of dwellings allowed on a certain property. 

Specifically, it amends the Local Government Code to “prohibit municipalities from adopting or enforcing ordinances, zoning variances, or other regulations that allow for the construction of more than one single-family dwelling on a lot that was zoned for single-family dwellings … and is located in a subdivision with at least one developed lot.” 

The bill includes an exception that allows municipalities to adopt such regulations if they provide written notice to affected property owners and obtain their consent, according to BillTrack50. Additionally, the bill amends the Civil Practice and Remedies Code to provide standing for individuals or trade associations to bring an action against a municipality that violates the new provisions.

House Bill 878 – Residential Land Use, Accessory Dwelling Units 

Sponsored by Cody Vasut (R-Angleton), House Bill 878 relates to the regulation of residential land use and accessory dwelling units by a political subdivision, authorizing a fee. 

Very little additional commentary is available about the bill, but the mention of minimum lot size and ADUs perked the ears of Dallas housing advocates. Here’s the 11-page bill in its entirety. 

The Texas Tribune reported in March that Vasut and other Texas Republicans appeared interested in relaxing land-use restrictions to allow more housing. 

“We want to have good policies that encourage development in order to lower prices,” Vasut said during a February panel at a gathering of pro-housing activists and groups in Austin, according to the Tribune article. “And the best way to do that is to get the government slightly more out of the way so that the free market takes off and provides a good product at a lower price.”

Allowing more homes to be built could also be another way of curtailing or reducing property tax bills, according to the report: “It would spread the overall tax burden over a greater number of households, which has the potential to slow the growth of individual tax bills, the thinking goes.”

House Bills 987 and 993 – City Building Permit Turnaround

House Bill 987 relates to the time for issuance of a municipal building permit, and  House Bill 993 relates to the time for processing a municipal building permit application.

Both bills were filed by Steve Toth (R-The Woodlands) in an effort to ensure a reasonable turnaround for building permits. 

Permitting delays have plagued Dallas since the COVID-19 pandemic, and although there’s been some improvement, the slow process has prompted some builders to take their business elsewhere. 

Senate Bill 210 – Permitting Requirements for Tax Credit Projects

Also touching on permitting issues, Senate Bill 210 relates to municipal permitting requirements for certain development projects supported with low-income housing tax credit allocations.

Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas) introduced the bill and it’s highlighted in the City of Dallas’ Government Affairs update.  

The aforementioned legislation is just a fraction of what has been filed, and it’s clear that housing issues are at the top of many lawmakers’ minds.

Several legislators filed bills that would limit increases in a property’s appraised value, the Texas Tribune reported, but there are challenges.

“Such caps could create inequities between taxpayers, experts have warned,” the Tribune report states. “New homeowners could end up paying significantly more than those who have owned homes for a long time. And the cap could also disrupt the housing market by enticing people to stay in their homes for longer in order to obtain the tax benefit, thus reducing the number of homes that become available each year.”