Housing Policy Newsletter – January 5, 2026
Legislation, research and news
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Happy New Year!
Welcome to the CSG East Housing Newsletter, where you’ll find updates on state legislation, insightful research, and a roundup of housing news and activity – to serve as a useful resource to you in 2026. Your feedback or questions are always welcome!
Thank you,
Joseph
Connecticut H.B. 8002 – An Act Concerning Housing Growth
In November 2025, Connecticut passed expansive housing legislation H.B. 8002, addressing a range of initiatives from rental assistance, zoning reform, parking minimums, growth plans, and restricting algorithmic rent setting. Detailed summaries are provided by the Office of Legislative Research and Partnership for Strong Communities.
Notable provisions include:
- Middle housing (2-9 units) must be allowed in areas zoned for commercial or mixed-use development, and may be allowed in areas zoned for residential use.
- Parking minimums repealed for residential developments with fewer than 17 homes. Developers building 17+ homes must be allowed to submit a parking needs assessment.
- State-owned land may be used for housing development by the Department of Housing.
- Municipalities must create a housing growth plan, or comply with a regional growth plan.
- Directs OPM to establish a Housing Growth Grant Program to award grants for expanding public infrastructure.
- Bans the use of algorithms, or revenue management devices, from determining a unit’s rental rate, or whether to leave the unit vacant.
DE SJR.8 creates a pilot program providing zoning technical assistance to municipalities to support affordable housing production and economic growth (signed by Governor 8/21/25).
NJ S.4722 to assess the impacts of climate change on property insurance (reported by committee 12/11/25). “Property insurance costs are skyrocketing…” said Senator Bob Smith.
RI HB.5804 re-classifies 3- and 4-family dwellings to adhere to residential building codes rather than commercial building codes (signed by Governor 6/27/25).
PA (S.1089 / H.2028) The Shelter First Act would permit the use of public space for life-sustaining activities for an individual experiencing homelessness if no adequate alternative indoor space is available to them (referred to committee 11/12/25). Senate memo; House memo.
Mandating Density Near Transit | Urban Institute
New analysis by the Urban Institute compares density requirements and other strategies to promote transit-oriented development (TOD) within recently enacted state and provincial laws. The authors observe an uptick of housing growth near transit in 21 U.S. states from 9.7% in 2000-2010 to 13.7% in 2010-2020, and find such growth almost always outpaced statewide housing growth. Policy recommendations include: (1) density requirements, (2) fund public infrastructure, (3) develop on public lands near transit, (4) balance developer requirements with incentives, (5) empower transit agencies to develop housing, and (6) appoint agencies to track progress.
HUD pauses plan to cap permanent supportive housing investments to 30%. Currently, approximately 90% of Continuum of Care funding is spent on permanent housing. The CoC NOFO was rescinded after HUD faced 2 lawsuits led by 20 states, Washington D.C., and additional local governments and nonprofit groups. The federal agency planned to reroute investments from permanent to temporary housing for the homeless [Politico]. A substantial summary is provided by the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
Shifting small-scale developments from commercial to residential building codes. Typical construction of 1-2 unit housing development abides by residential codes, while 3-unit, 4-unit and larger developments adhere to commercial codes. Legislation across multiple states and cities would bring triplexes and quadplexes under the residential code requirements [National Fire Sprinkler Association]. In a separate report, John Zeanah writes, “A fourplex may be treated like a 40-unit apartment in many respects… many missing middle projects do not pencil out or become technically challenging, even if allowed by zoning” [Beyond Zoning].
New Hampshire maps water and sewer access. To aid the site selection process for housing development, the New Hampshire Zoning Atlas updated its zoning maps with data identifying areas in the state with access to water and sewer infrastructure. Findings indicate only 12% of the state’s buildable land has access to this vital infrastructure [Manchester Ink Link].
Massachusetts proposes streamlined environmental review for new qualified homes. Governor Healey’s plan aims to reduce review times from 1 year to 30 days by allowing certain projects to replace a lengthy Environmental Impact Report with a simplified Environmental Notification Form. To qualify, projects must meet requirements based on (1) residential purposes, (2) density based on housing type, (3) land efficiency, (4) siting outside of floodplain and other hazard areas, (5) energy efficiency, (6) utility and infrastructure access, and (7) transit-oriented development [mass.gov].
Innovations in office-to-residential conversions. An uptick in the pace of office-to-resi conversions is underway, particularly in New York City, where developers are adopting innovative methods, such as “cut-through notches, carved light wells, and strategic wall-offs of interior cores…” Broad zoning reforms across the city have also expanded eligibility for conversion. One current project is expected to yield 680 apartments [WSJ].
