Bold Housing Reforms to Renew the American Dream in the Commonwealth
Kentucky’s housing challenges are making it harder for families to find affordable homes, businesses to attract and retain employees, and communities to grow.
The Kentucky Chamber Center for Policy and Research, Home Builders Association of Kentucky, and KY REALTORS® have outlined 12 policy reforms to make it easier to build more homes across the Commonwealth.
Kentucky’s Housing Challenges By The Numbers
- The state missed out on an estimated $3.7 billion in economic activity and 32,600 jobs from 2008 to 2025.
- 1.5 million Kentucky adults are non-homeowners, with homeownership falling from 60.1% of adults in 2006 to 57.9% in 2024.
- In certain areas of the state, median home sale prices are now 4 times median household incomes, up from 2-3 times median incomes 30 years ago.
- 93% of local Kentucky leaders are pessimistic that their communities could provide the housing necessary to accommodate an economic development announcement of 1,000 new jobs.
- While 91% of Kentucky voters view housing as part of the American Dream, only 1 in 2 voters think the American Dream is still attainable in the Commonwealth.
12 Housing Reforms
- Modernize rules for minimum lot sizes and setbacks.
- Let the market determine how much parking is necessary for new housing.
- Make the rules for development more predictable through vested rights protections.
- Set expectations for expedient approval and review timelines.
- Reduce costly delays by allowing third-party inspections.
- Reduce barriers to mixed-use developments in commercial areas.
- Let the market—not government—drive decisions on home building aesthetics.
- Reduce delays caused by procedural challenges.
- Encourage more public-private partnerships to increase housing supply.
- Create opportunities for cost-sharing approaches to residential infrastructure.
- Ease restrictions on shared housing to expand affordable housing options.
- Require state agencies to consider the impacts on home building and gather more feedback from industry experts when creating or modifying regulations.
Help Kentucky Build More Homes
Add your name to support efforts to remove barriers to home building and expand housing opportunities across Kentucky.
Read the Research
Building A Foundation for Growth
In January 2024, the Kentucky Chamber Center for Policy and Research and the Home Builders Association of Kentucky announced a new partnership to explore Kentucky’s housing challenges and propose solutions to build a foundation for growth in the Commonwealth. Following an extensive research process and conversations with community leaders across the state, the Center for Policy and Research released a new report on July 8, 2024, outlining the state’s current and future housing needs and proposing policy solutions to ensure Kentucky has a strong foundation for growth.
Questions?
If you have any questions, please contact Sawyer Coffey Noel at scoffey@kychamber.com.