Reform

California bills target condo deposits and defect liability

California lawmakers are weighing bills that would reduce regulatory barriers to revive condominium construction, which has dropped significantly from its peak in the years before the Great Recession. Assembly Bill 1406 would raise the state’s liquidated-damages limit on new condominium sales from 3% of the purchase price to 6%. Backers frame the bill as “condo […]

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Austin housing reforms could influence Michigan legislation

Michigan housing advocates are pointing to Austin, Texas, as they try to build support for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s “grand bargain” housing affordability agenda in the state Legislature. Advocates say a multi-year set of zoning, permitting and code reforms in Austin helped drive a surge in homebuilding – and that the resulting increase in supply coincided

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Utah lawmakers target starter homes with lot size reform

Utah lawmakers opened their 2026 legislative agenda with a proposal to revive a once-bedrock fixture of the American Dream of homeownership: starter homes. By streamlining permit approvals and rezoning for smaller property lots, Beehive State legislators will try to pry open a path to first-time homeownership. The bill would reduce minimum lot sizes to encourage

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Florida lawmakers muscle up on a raft of new housing reforms

One of the nation’s most aggressive housing policy reform agendas of the post-pandemic era greets Florida lawmakers as they enter their 2026 legislative session bent on improving housing affordability.​ With a coordinated set of “fix” bills, Sunshine State lawmakers want to add more muscle to the state’s workforce housing program. Proposed legislation would legalize more

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Maryland bids for deeper reforms to address housing affordability

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Tuesday rolled out a trio of housing bills that push his state deeper into the trenches of a national fight over affordability and land use.​ Set for introduction when the new General Assembly session starts next week in Annapolis, the Governor’s proposals would jump‑start construction near transit, legalize smaller starter

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