“Nearly all of the biggest challenges in America are, at some level, a housing problem” — Conor Dougherty, The New York Times
Everyone needs a home. But too few homes are being built and they are increasingly too expensive, particularly in America’s most populated and productive cities.
There’s a clear solution: build more housing.
But far too few homes are being built. The reason? Land use regulations limit what types of—and how much—new housing can be built, significantly driving up the cost of new construction. As a result, building new housing is more expensive and time-consuming than it should be.
The key: giving owners freedom to use their property, which unleashes private enterprise to create more housing. We need to get government out of the way, not more government mandates. We need freedom in land use.
PLF is leading the charge to free property owners and builders from government barriers to housing production in courts and legislatures.
Also known as in-law suites or “granny flats,” ADUs are small, separate apartments that homeowners create on their property. They are typically less expensive than surrounding housing and are perfect for adult children or elderly relatives who want to stay near their families. They don’t change the surrounding neighborhood, and are thus a great way to slowly add to the existing housing stock.
“California faces a severe housing crisis.” That’s what the state legislature said in 2016. As part of a slew of legislative reforms intended to address the crisis, the state passed new laws des…
There is agreement today across the ideological spectrum that the cost of housing is too high. The share of all Americans paying more than 30, 40, or even 50 percent of their monthly income on housing…
Decades of underbuilding, largely due to red tape imposed by prohibitive land use laws, has pushed California into a housing crisis. Apartments and homes have never been more expensive. That’s why s…
This summer the Biden administration released a report that came to the same conclusion every administration since President Reagan’s has reached: restrictive land-use regulation is one of the prima…
A century ago, the Supreme Court upheld the nation’s first rent control law in Washington, D.C.. A year later, it did the same for New York’s “Emergency Housing Law.” Soon, the Second Circuit …
For the entirety of Elizabeth Riddick’s life, her mother Renee has been her rock. Whether she was supporting Elizabeth through her divorce or helping her purchase a home in Malibu, California, Renee has been there for her daughter through thick and thin. When Renee, now 82, began to develop severe health issues, Elizabeth sprang into …
California is in the midst of a severe housing shortage. With options limited and prices skyrocketing, the legislature in 2019 passed a slew of reforms making it easier for homeowners to build accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, on their properties. ADUs are small homes located on the same lot as an existing single- or multi-family …
Help us make housing legal again for good. Your support helps us bring additional legal challenges and legislative solutions to protect the home equity of hardworking Americans.
