Rezoning Georgia's Housing Laws

Housing, and its lack, is a prevalent issue across the United States, and Georgia is no exception. While the state’s population continues to grow, housing construction isn’t keeping pace. The state has added over one million residents each decade since 1980, but housing production dropped after the 2008 financial crisis and hasn’t been able to fully rebound. From the 2000s to the 2010s, there was a 52% decrease in total new housing permits approved statewide.

At first glance, the solution to a housing crisis seems simple: just build more houses. But a strong housing market needs options, and sometimes simply building more units of any kind isn’t the best solution.

Earlier this year Macon-Bibb County reached a similar conclusion after completing a nine-month housing assessment. The study found that the gap between what residents earn and the price of available housing was widening. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how much housing is built if people can’t afford it.

A solution lies in a housing type appropriately termed “missing middle housing.” Coined by architect and urban designer Daniel Parolek in 2010, the phrase refers to “house-scale buildings with multiple units in walkable neighborhoods.” This includes units like duplexes, fourplexes and townhomes.

It’s called “middle” housing because it bridges the gap between detached single-family houses and mid- to high-rise apartment buildings, and it’s “missing” because it has largely been illegal or difficult to build since the mid-1940s.

Restrictive zoning laws, minimum lot sizes, and parking requirements that disincentivize smaller-scale home production have worked to erase middle housing from the US landscape. Much of the existing stock was built in the 1920s and 30s, and since the mid-twentieth century, the single-family housing model has dominated markets.

Some policy makers have pointed to middle housing as a tool to increase affordable housing units. In 2019, Oregon became the first state to legalize duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes statewide through House Bill (HB) 2001. Since then, right and left leaning states alike have moved in a similar direction. California, Washington, Maine, Montana, Connecticut, Vermont and Florida have all created similar laws that eliminate single-family zoning or ease zoning and accessory dwelling unit restrictions.

While the impact of reform on property values is an ongoing debate, early evidence from Minneapolis – the most studied case – shows property values appreciating at rates similar to peer cities and a slower increase in rent prices. In 2018 the city council approved the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan, eliminating single-family zoning throughout the city, which made up 70% of its total land area.

Georgia lawmakers have tried to follow suit, introducing HB 1166 in 2026. The bill would have overridden local zoning restrictions, allowing homeowners to build ADUs of 400 square feet or less on their properties. However, it was substantially rewritten by the Senate Committee on State and Local Governmental Operations and ultimately died.

Georgia leaves much of its zoning law up to local municipalities, which have taken various approaches to this issue. In 2023 the city of Decatur voted to amend city zoning law to allow for the construction of duplexes, triplexes and quadruplexes in single-family residential zoning districts. Conversely, the Athens-Clarke County commission decided to allow tiny homes in 2026, but kept a ban on kitchens in ADUs, preventing them from being suitable for long-term habitation.

Georgia lawmakers should not shy away from confronting overly restrictive local zoning laws. However, a state-wide mandate that would effectively ban single-family residential zoning may face resistance from municipal leaders.

Instead, the state should offer incentives, such as infrastructure grants, to cities that voluntarily open up single-family zones. Added density requires local upgrades to water lines, sewer systems and public transit, and the state should work with local governments to ensure middle housing does not become burdensome.

Lawmakers can also target other areas that make building middle housing difficult. For example, the state can reduce parking minimums and minimum lot size requirements, two things which hinder middle housing.

A 2025 report from the Georgia Public Policy Foundation concluded that there is a critical lack of mid-density housing in the state, but addressing this is not impossible. Some municipalities have already shown a desire to do so, and the General Assembly can help ensure it won’t come at a high cost for those which are hesitant.

In 2024 lawmakers introduced the Community Housing Options Increase Cost Efficiency (CHOICE) Act (HB 1266) and in 2026 it was reintroduced under HB 400. The act aimed to incentivise the adoption of zoning and land use policies that promote affordable housing by giving local governments that did so priority for some grants and loans. Though it did not pass, lawmakers should continue to introduce similar legislation.

By confronting the zoning policies that have reduced middle housing, Georgia can ensure that a growing state doesn’t mean a shrinking population of homeowners.