State Preemption of Local Equitable Housing Policies

Mapping State Preemption of Local Equitable Housing Policies

This mapping tool developed by the Local Solutions Support Center brings together and updates research from Grounded Solutions Network, PowerSwitch Action, the Poverty & Race Research Action Council (PRRAC), the National Fair Housing Alliance, and the Urban Law Center, to document state preemption of inclusive and equitable local housing policies.

• The extent of each state’s preemption of local policy also depends on whether local governments are granted broader or more limited power by the state. Some states are governed by “home rule,” which gives local governments authority to govern themselves unless the state restricts them. Other states are governed by “Dillon’s Rule,” which limits local power to only what the state expressly grants. Because the details vary significantly across the country, local officials and advocates should research and understand the details of their particular state. Read more here.

BACKGROUND

The United States is in the midst of a housing crisis that touches every corner of the nation, with the BIPOC and low-income Americans who make up the majority of renters suffering the most. 

According to a recent compilation of Census data, 58% of Black American households and 53% of Hispanic households rent their homes. Less than a third (31%) of white households rent. A separate Census dataset from 2018 shows that Black households make up 20.2% of all renters in America compared with 8.1% of all homeowners.  

Moreover, according to the Joint Center For Housing Studies of Harvard University, renters with annual household incomes under $30,000 had a median of only $250 per month to spend after paying for housing and utilities in 2023; the percentage of severely cost-burdened renters has increased over time in every income bracket; and the percentage of renters who are cost-burdened with an income range of $45,000 to $74,999 has doubled to 45% since 2001. 

Local governments have taken the lead in addressing the nation’s housing crisis through policy reforms that protect tenants or increase access to affordable housing. But, as the map shows, this progress is increasingly imperiled by state preemption.

More About Each Type of Housing Preemption Law

To understand the impact of state interference, it helps to have a basic understanding of some of the most prominent examples of local efforts to advance equitable and inclusive housing policies.

SOURCE-OF-INCOME NONDISCRIMINATION

Source-of-income (SOI) nondiscrimination laws prevent landlords from refusing to rent to people solely because they receive federal assistance. These laws make it easier for families who receive federal assistance to find quality, stable affordable housing in communities that meet their needs. In many areas, SOI discrimination has a disproportionately severe effect on groups already likely to face discrimination based on characteristics protected by the Fair Housing Act, such as race and disability, reinforcing patterns of residential segregation. 

States that preempt these policies: Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Texas

INCLUSIONARY ZONING AND RELATED HOUSING PROGRAMS

Cities and counties have also used their role as land use regulators to institute inclusionary zoning ordinances. These programs encourage or require developers to offer some affordable housing for lower income families in exchange for their ability to develop valuable land. An inclusionary housing program might require developers to sell or rent 10 to 30 percent of new residential units to lower-income residents.

Many, but not all, programs partially offset the cost of providing affordable units by offering developers incentives such as tax abatements, parking reductions, or the right to build at higher densities. Most programs recognize that it’s not always feasible to include affordable on-site units within market-rate projects. In some cases, developers can choose among alternatives, such as payment of an in-lieu fee or provision of affordable off-site units in another project.

States that preempt these policies: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Montana, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin

REGULATION OF SHORT-TERM RENTALS

The rapid growth of short-term rental platforms, like Airbnb and VRBO, has raised significant concerns about their impact on housing affordability and availability. Local regulators have sought to mitigate these concerns by restricting the location or concentration of short-term rentals, or prohibiting them altogether, regulating the minimum length of stay, limiting short-term rentals to primary residences, requiring licenses for short-term rentals, and other regulatory strategies.

States that preempt these policies: Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin

Rent regulations

Local regulations that cap the rate at which owners can increase rents over a period of time can help protect tenants from de facto (economic) eviction. These policies can include an annual or multi-year limit on the percentage increase in rents or it can be tied to an indicator like the consumer price index (CPI). Typically these rent regulations allow rents to exceed the maximum rate of increase for major repairs, rising operating costs, or cases of proven hardship. They also allow landlords to set the initial rent at any level when marketing a vacant unit or signing an initial lease. Limited increases then apply to the subsequent duration of tenancy.

States that preempt these policies: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin

CONCLUSION

As the mapping tool we are providing makes clear, local policies designed to foster communities of opportunity, equity, and inclusion are being compromised by preemption—state interference that is perpetuating inequality at a time of genuine crisis in affordable housing.

Table View by State

Alabama:

Rent Regulation Preemption – Ala. Code § 11-80-8.1 (1993)

ARIZONA:

Inclusionary Zoning Preemption –

• Cities and Towns: Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 9-461.16

• Counties: Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 11-819

Short-Term Rental Preemption –

• Cities and Towns: Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 9-500.39

• Counties: Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann § 11-269.17

Rent Regulation Preemption – Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann § 33-1329 (1980)

Arkansas:

Rent Regulation Preemption –

• Municipalities: Ark. Code Ann § 14-54-1409 (2017)

• Counties: Ark. Code Ann § 14-16-601 (2017)

California:

Rent Regulation Preemption – Cal. Civ. Code § 1954.50-53 (1995)

Colorado:

Inclusionary Zoning Preemption – Town of Telluride v. Lot Thirty-Four Venture 3 P.3d 3o (CO 2000)

Rent Regulation Preemption – Colo. Rev. Stat. § 38-12-301 (2010)

Florida:

Short-Term Rental Preemption – Fla. Stat. § 509.032 (7)(b)

Rent Regulation Preemption – Fla. Stat. § 166.043 (2018)

Georgia:

Rent Regulation Preemption – Ga. Code Ann. § 44-7-19 (2010)

Idaho:

Inclusionary Zoning Preemption – "At least some form of local inclusionary housing policies (typically mandatory policies) are clearly prohibited for both ownership and rental housing, either by statute or by court decision.)” because an Idaho court struck down a local inclusionary housing ordinance as an unconstitutional tax." (Mt. Cent. Bd. of Realtors v. City of McCall)

Short-Term Rental Preemption – Idaho Code Ann. § 67-6539 (2017)

Rent Regulation Preemption – Idaho Code Ann. § 55-307 (1990)

Illinois:

Rent Regulation Preemption – 50 ILL. COMP. STAT. 825/1 (1997)

Indiana:

Source-of-Income Nondiscrimination Preemption – Ind. Code § 36-1-3-8.5

Inclusionary Zoning Preemption – Ind. Code § 32-31-1-20

Short-Term Rental Preemption – H.E.A. 1035, 120th Gen. Ass. Sess. (Ind. 2018)

Rent Regulation Preemption – Ind. Code. Ann. § 32-31-1-20 (2017)

Iowa

Rent Regulation Preemption –

• Counties: Iowa Code § 331.304(10) (2017)

• Cities: Iowa Code § 364.3(9) (2017)

Source-of-Income Nondiscrimination Preemption – Iowa Code Ann. §§ 331.304(13), 364.3(13)

Short-Term Rental Preemption – Iowa Code Ann. §§ 331.304(17), 364.3(13)

Kansas:

Inclusionary Zoning Preemption Kan. Stat. Ann. § 12-16,120

Kentucky:

Rent Regulation Preemption – Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann § 65.872 (1992)

Louisiana:

Rent Regulation Preemption – La. Stat. Ann. § 9.3258 (1977)

Massachusetts:

Rent Regulation Preemption – Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 40P, § 4 (1989)

Michigan:

Rent Regulation Preemption – Mich. Comp. Laws. § 123.411 (1988)

Minnesota:

Rent Regulation Preemption – Minn. Stat. § 477.9996 (2017)

Mississippi:

Rent Regulation Preemption – Miss. Code Ann. § 21-17-5 (2)(h) (2013)

Missouri:

Rent Regulation Preemption – Mo. Rev. Stat. 441.043

MONTANA:

Inclusionary Zoning Preemption – Mont. Code Ann. §§ 7-2-4203(3), (4); §§ 76-2-203(4)(5); §§ 76-2-302(6); (7)

New Hampshire:

Short-Term Rental Preemption – N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 48-A-2

New Mexico:

Rent Regulation Preemption – N.M. Stat. Ann. § 47-8A-1

North Carolina:

Rent Regulation Preemption – N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-14.1

Short-Term Rental Preemption – N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. Ch. 42A

North Dakota:

Rent Regulation Preemption – N.D. Cent. Code § 47-16-02.1

Oklahoma:

Rent Regulation Preemption – Okla. Stat. Ann. Tit. 11., § 11-14-101.1

Oregon:

Rent Regulation Preemption – Or. Rev. Stat. § 91.225

South Carolina:

Rent Regulation Preemption – S.C. Code Ann. § 27-39-60

South Dakota:

Rent Regulation Preemption – S.D. Codified Laws § 6-1-13

Tennessee:

Inclusionary Zoning Preemption – Tenn. Code. Ann. § 66-35-102

Short-Term Rental Preemption – Tenn. Code. Ann. § 13-7-603

Rent Regulation Preemption – Tenn. Code. Ann. § 66-35-102

Texas:

Source-of-Income Nondiscrimination Preemption – Ind. Code 36-1-3-8.5

Inclusionary Zoning Preemption – Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code § 214.905

Rent Regulation Preemption – Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code § 214.902

Utah:

Short-Term Rental Preemption – Utah Code Ann. § 10-8-85.4 (2017)

Rent Regulation Preemption – Utah Code Ann. § 57-20-1

VIRGINIA:

Inclusionary Zoning Preemption – 214 Va. 235, 198 S.E.2d 600 (1973) – “The Virginia Supreme Court has invalidated a mandatory inclusionary housing ordinance.” Bd. of Supervisors v. De Groff Enters., Inc.

Washington:

Rent Regulation Preemption – RCW 35.21.830

Wisconsin:

Inclusionary Zoning Preemption – Wis. Stat. § 66.1015

Short-Term Rental Preemption – Wis. Stat. § 66.1014

Rent Regulation Preemption – Wis. Stat. § 66.1015