The overview
In large Texas cities, Senate Bill 15 would allow property owners in new neighborhoods to construct single-family homes on lots as small as 3,000 square feet without approval from local officials. The latest version of the bill would more than double the density rules approved by state senators in March, which would allow single-family homes to be built on lots as small as 1,400 square feet.
The amended proposal initially passed the House in an 87-48 vote on May 27, with one more procedural vote required before SB 15 can return to the Senate. If the upper chamber does not agree with the changes, senators could call for a conference committee to iron out the differences.
Bill author Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, did not immediately respond to a request for comment before press time.
On the House floor May 27, bill sponsor Rep. Gary Gates, R-Richmond, noted that while SB 15 would limit large cities’ zoning authority, landowners themselves would have more freedom.
“If a developer wants to build on a bigger lot, nothing stops them from doing that,” Gates said. “It's not mandating that a lot be that size.”
May 27 is the deadline for House lawmakers to take initial votes on the majority of legislation this session, while May 28 is the last day the Senate can pass all bills. Texas’ 140-day regular legislative session ends June 2.
More details
SB 15 would apply to cities with at least 150,000 residents located in counties with populations of at least 300,000—including Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, Bexar, Travis, Collin, Denton, Fort Bend, Montgomery and Williamson counties.
Those cities would not be allowed to require that residential lots be larger than 3,000 square feet, wider than 30 feet or deeper than 75 feet, according to the bill. The regulations would apply only to land larger than five acres that has not been mapped or platted, such as new neighborhoods.
Put in perspective
Proponents of SB 15 said it would help more Texans purchase homes by increasing housing stock in new neighborhoods.
“We're becoming a nation and a state of renters,” Gates said May 27. “We do have a housing affordability crisis, and one of the biggest costs of housing is the cost of land. ... By reducing the lot size, not only does [SB 15] reduce the cost of housing, but you have lower-cost electricity, you have lower usage of water.”
Texas’ population growth has outpaced homebuilding since 2020, resulting in a widespread housing shortage, the state comptroller’s office reported in August. Up For Growth, a national housing policy organization, estimated in 2023 that Texas needs about 306,000 more homes to meet demand.
Some House members said they were concerned about taking away cities’ authority to determine what size homes can be built where.
“I don't want to take away the ability for my city and the people in this city to be able to control the size of the lots and the homes that are put there,” Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, said May 27. “I think it's really important that we think for a moment about what we do up here at the Capitol and how much local control we take away from the local elected officials.”
Rep. Ramon Romero, D-Fort Worth, added an amendment to SB 15 that would require cities to adopt the new zoning rules before they could take effect.
The local impact
During a March committee hearing, Bettencourt said he drafted the original bill to mirror Houston, which set similar regulations throughout the city in 2013, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Last spring, officials in Austin moved to allow single-family homes to be built on lots 1,800 square feet or larger in an attempt to permit more housing types and smaller homes. The original bill would have superseded Austin’s regulations, though Gates said May 27 that the House’s version of the legislation would only impact cities that currently require homes to be built on lots larger than 3,000 square feet.
“The cost to build versus what the average Texas family can afford has never been wider, and it's growing. ... Starter homes that used to be very accessible and abundant, they're no longer there, and it's heartbreaking,” Greg Anderson, director of community affairs for Austin Habitat for Humanity, told senators during in March.
In March, Georgetown mayor Josh Schroeder said SB 15 would be “an absolute disaster” for his city, due to potential increases in population density. Georgetown had about 101,000 residents in July and is located in Williamson County, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
“[This is] a tax hike on my community. ... It would have millions of dollars of impact on our water, wastewater and road systems that our community would be required to pay for,” Schroeder told state senators.
