"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 the construction of starter homes and improve problematic statewide housing affordability."
"If efforts in other states on starter homes are any indicator of the odds of success, a Utah bill faces a challenging road ahead. Across the country, state legislatures have tried starter home or minimum-lot-size reforms, to little avail. Texas and Maine are the only two states that have lowered minimum lot sizes as a basis to encourage smaller perhaps starter home development. Maine went to 5,000 square feet while Texas lawmakers settled on 3,000 square feet."
Utah legislators proposed reducing minimum lot sizes and streamlining permit approvals to promote construction of starter homes and expand paths to first-time homeownership. The measure aims to address statewide housing affordability and supports a goal of building 35,000 starter homes by the end of 2028. The proposal builds on housing reforms enacted the prior year and emphasizes entry points into ownership rather than merely increasing unit counts. Past efforts in other states show mixed results: only Maine and Texas have lowered lot-size requirements, while similar bills have failed elsewhere amid gubernatorial vetoes and opposition from municipal organizations resisting state preemption of local zoning.
Read at www.housingwire.com
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