Gregg Hough: More problems than solutions with affordable housing

To The Daily Sun,

Everyone agrees that affordable housing is essential but no amount of legislation can make it happen. Laws don’t build homes, and government mandates don’t change the basic realities of cost, labor, and demand. When politicians try to legislate “affordable housing,” they often create more problems than they solve.

Rules such as rent control, mandatory “affordable units,” or inclusionary zoning drive up construction costs and discourage development. Builders faced with red tape, permitting delays, and inflated fees simply stop building. Fewer new homes mean tighter supply and higher prices for everyone. What was meant to make housing cheaper ends up making it more expensive.

True affordability can only come from a free and open market. When builders are free to build without government interference, supply naturally rises to meet demand. Competition among builders and property owners keeps prices fair. Every regulation, fee, and zoning restriction distorts that balance, adding thousands of dollars before construction even begins.

The best role government can play is to get out of the way. Remove restrictive zoning laws, eliminate unnecessary permits and impact fees, and stop trying to control prices through legislation. Let private individuals, small builders, and investors decide what to build, where, and for whom.

Housing affordability isn’t something that can be legislated it’s something that emerges naturally when freedom, competition, and property rights are respected. The more we try to control the market, the more we destroy the very affordability we claim to seek. True progress means trusting people, not politicians to meet the needs of their communities.

Gregg Hough

Laconia