housing shortage

When DOGE cut $2.3 million from a Kansas state agency, it hit rural communities hard. Housing providers already stretched thin closed their doors while others found temporary life rafts, bracing for what's next.

Suburban officials in the Dallas-Fort Worth region have enacted rules aimed at curtailing a sweeping new state law to allow more apartments.

Three new Texas bills clear away zoning and land use regulations that have stood in the way of housing development. But some say they aren't sufficient on their own to increase the state's housing supply and lower costs.

Several planned projects would have brought solar to communities in the Midwest and Great Plains for the first time. Others would have expanded existing efforts. Now, the projects are on hold after the Environmental Protection Agency abruptly terminated $7 billion in funding.

The Legislature passed laws allowing smaller homes on smaller lots and making it harder for neighbors to block new housing.

South Plains Community Action Association, Inc., or SPCAA, serves approximately 114 counties in Texas, with a focus on assisting in rural communities. It is one of many organizations whose programs are under threat in upcoming federal budget proposals.

Advocates for people who are homeless say eliminating the credit will mean it's harder to find affordable places to live. Lawmakers say when they passed the tax credits in 2022, they didn’t realize how much they would cost.

Critics of the affordable housing tax credit argue it is costing Kansas too much money. But supporters say it's helping construct new homes amid a housing shortage that’s driving up the costs of homes and contributing to homelessness.

Kansas has a lack of housing in both rural and urban areas. The bill would focus on areas with “minimal building activity.”

The bill proposes requiring courts to automatically seal certain eviction records and expunge others after two years.