The cost to own or rent a home has skyrocketed in recent years. While Nashville gets frequent headlines about its growth, this is a growing trend across most of the state and was the single most often mentioned concern of Tennesseans in our 2022 listening tour. In fact, Tennessee has the fourth-highest growth in home prices in the nation. Beacon will work to reduce the cost of both homeownership and renting through a “Cost of Housing Reduction Package.” Among our proposals, we are:
- Calling for a statewide limit on large property tax increases like that in 46 other states, which will benefit both homeowners and renters alike.
- Launching an interactive zoning map allowing Tennesseans to see how zoning regulations impact the cost of their home.
- Reducing government red tape that stifles housing supply, including a Permit Freedom Act to expedite local permitting.
- Reforming the state’s home improvement contractor license to make it easier for homeowners to make more affordable improvements to their homes.
- Prohibiting so-called “pending ordinance doctrines” by local governments that allow local laws to take effect before they pass and often drive up housing prices before they are even passed by the local legislative body.
