Let Tennessee Developers Pay for Third-Party Inspectors so They Can Build More Housing

It’s a huge problem everywhere, but especially in Tennessee: There just isn’t enough housing, and the homes that are available cost far more than many residents can afford. Builders want to build, but onerous red tape often forces them to wait months to obtain permission from the government, and the costs that result from these unnecessary delays are then passed down to Tennesseans who need a place to live.

Now, Tennessee has a chance to enact a crucial reform that would streamline the permitting process, allowing more units to get to market quickly and with lower costs for homebuilders, buyers, and renters.

It couldn’t come at a better time, with families in Tennessee having experienced some of the highest year-over-year rent increases in the country since 2021. As new residents flooded into the Volunteer State from California and New York, Tennessee cities failed to build enough housing to keep up with demand, resulting in a supply crunch felt across all income levels.

Read the rest of the op-ed at The Tennessean. 

Brian Norman is the director of state affairs at the Goldwater Institute, where he assists in the development and implementation of Goldwater’s national legislative affairs strategy.