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A Lesser Known Solution for Sky High Rents
Could Private Certifiers Speed up New Housing Stock?
In many municipalities in the U.S, new housing is backlogged by local and state governments. Building permits for new housing can take anywhere from 3 to 12+ months. City and town offices are understaffed, and the approval from different agencies slows down the approval process.
For a relatively small fee, a private certifier can review a permit set to see if it is fully compliant with all the local building and zoning codes. If it is fully compliant, the certifier can approve the plans within a few weeks. The certifiers can lose their license if they approve non compliant buildings, so they would be incentivized to review the plans carefully.
When I lived and worked in Sydney, Australia, Councils could take up to 12 months to approve a building addition. The longest I heard was 18 months for approval for an addition to a house. The private certifiers took just a few weeks for a few thousand dollar fee. This incentivized “Complying Development,” essentially building something that followed all the requirements. But if one thing didn’t comply, such as the setbacks, the whole project had to go through the Council.
The City of San Jose, California as well as Eugene Oregon have Pre-Approved ADU plans. An ADU (accessory dwelling unit) is a smaller…
