Speaker Shekarchi announces his sixth package of housing bills

"The sad reality is that there is a direct correlation between rising housing costs and increased homelessness," said Speaker Shekarchi.

Rhode Island House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi today announced his 2026 housing legislation package, his sixth since becoming Speaker in 2021. You can watch the video here.

“Our advocacy is working: Rhode Island is becoming a model for housing policy in other states,” said Speaker Shekarchi. “We’ve passed more than 60 new housing laws that are having real results. The creation of a new land-use court calendar reduced the backlog of pending cases by nearly half within its first year of implementation. It’s no coincidence that reducing red tape has led to a significant rise in building permits. In 2023, we had a 70% rise in building permits, the most in a single year since the Great Recession.

“But building takes time, and we are still trying to play catch-up for all the years that Rhode Island was dead last in the country for new housing starts. While Rhode Island remains a relatively affordable option for people moving here from other states, our own residents are too often priced out of the neighborhoods they grew up in. The sad reality is that there is a direct correlation between rising housing costs and increased homelessness. This winter alone, at least four people froze to death because they were unhoused. That is completely unacceptable. Until all of our neighbors have a safe place to sleep at night, this work must continue.”

The announced bills are:

• Infill subdivision for housing: Upon passage, this legislation would allow property owners in areas with water and sewer capacity to subdivide property for single-family residential development under certain limited conditions and requirements.

• Parking maximums: Upon passage, this legislation would establish maximum parking requirements for multifamily housing in areas accessible by public transit. It follows initiatives in other states in reducing parking requirements.

• Homeless Bill of Rights: Upon passage, this legislation would add a requirement to Rhode Island’s existing Homeless Bill of Rights that at least a 15-day notice be given to individuals/families affected by the disbanding of an encampment, subject to emergency and safety exceptions.

• SAFE bill: Upon passage, this legislation would enable cities and towns to allow Supportive and Functional Emergency units (“SAFE Units,” such as Pallet shelters) to operate temporarily during an emergency declaration. This legislation would enable cities and towns to respond quickly in the event of severe weather and/or natural or manufactured disasters.

• Single staircase: Upon passage, this legislation would amend the state building code to allow single-staircase construction in residential buildings up to four floors and 16 units, but the construction would remain subject to all applicable fire code requirements.

• Technical amendments: This legislation is based on feedback received by the Land Use Commission and various stakeholders, including local municipalities, developers, planners, and other advocates. The legislation seeks to clarify and amend the processes, terms, references, and requirements outlined in the Zoning Enabling Act, Low- and Moderate-Income Housing Act, and Subdivision Act.

• Vacant land/properties: Upon passage, this legislation would allow the adaptive reuse of state-owned vacant buildings by right. The legislation would enable the redevelopment/adaptive reuse of vacant municipal buildings into housing and also amend the redevelopment program to convert municipal schools.

• Commission to study and review the Condominium Act: Upon passage, this legislation would establish a commission to study potential modernization of and updates to the state’s Condominium Act, which has not been reviewed or amended in more than a decade.

• Affordable housing tax assessment and valuation: Upon passage, this legislation would impose limits on tax rates for new construction of residential rental units that include certain percentages of affordable housing in either new construction or adaptive reuse projects.

The legislation has also been influenced by two housing commissions established by Speaker Shekarchi. Some of the announced legislation would amend existing housing laws based on feedback from these commissions.

“… this year in particular, the package addresses the struggles that renters sometimes face finding affordable, stable housing that meets their families’ needs,” said Representative June Speakman (Democrat, District 68, Warren, Bristol), who chairs the Special Legislative Commission to Affordable Housing. Speaking about the larger goals of her committee, Speakman said, “We will make better use of vacant spaces and buildings. We’ve developed some creative financial tools (like) the land bank, and I have great faith in the public developer. This coming year, we are looking at new building materials and processes to ensure tenants live in safe, clean units. We’re working on permitting and inspections, and, God help us all, the building code. This is a complicated area of public policy, and all of these voices have to be at the table to make sure that we get it right. It’s an ongoing iterative process.”

“I’ve thought a lot about what the land use commission has done and what we’ve looked at, and I think the best way to describe it is ‘back to the future,’” said Thomas Deller, Johnston Town Planner and Chair of the House’s Land Use Commission. “If you go back and look at the original zoning enabling legislation proposed to guide development, it was designed to allow communities to create a vision of what they wanted to achieve. Unfortunately, over time, we added more and more processes and steps, making the process convoluted, difficult, and time-consuming. Nothing we have done limits a community’s right to set its vision and the rules to move it forward.

Deller added:

“All we’re asking communities to do is think about how to make that vision happen more quickly and more efficiently, to develop the housing we desperately need in Rhode Island. I will tell you, from my own personal experience, that in Johnston, where I work, the housing permits have gone up because we’ve allowed the rules to be implemented and used. There has been controversy surrounding it, but we’ve seen growth in housing.

“I think this package is a little simpler than our previous ones, but it’s an incremental step forward, and we have to remember that development is not static. It is changing. New materials come in, new processes come in, new types of housing. We need to stay open to the ideas. We need to stay open to how we achieve the vision of housing that we have for this state.

“Much of the legislation stems from testimony and discussions by both commissions, which have been meeting regularly since July 2022 to address ways Rhode Island can meet its affordable housing needs in a sustainable and equitable manner.”

“…while the progress is real, our data clearly show that housing instability remains urgent for our working families,” said Cortney Nicolato, President and CEO of United Way of Rhode Island. “Nearly half of Rhode Island households are either in poverty or what we call ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). These are working families: healthcare aides, teachers, retail managers, and municipal workers. They earn too much to qualify for most assistance, but not enough to handle sudden rent increases. For our ALICE households, housing costs are the largest and least flexible expense in their monthly budget. This package of bills adds much-needed flexibility to regulatory practices and offers innovative incentives for developers, aimed at ensuring all Rhode Islanders can have a safe and affordable place to call home.”

Nicolato continued:

“The top reason Rhode Islanders call United Ways’ 211 system for help is housing and utility assistance. These requests account for about one in three calls, and most callers are employed. They are working, but housing costs are rising faster than their wages. Just a few months ago, 211 was contacted by a single mother working full-time in healthcare. She had received a $300 monthly rent increase. At the same time, her car needed repairs so she could continue commuting to work. She was not irresponsible. She was simply one unexpected expense away from eviction. With short-term help and support with her budgeting, she was able to keep her home and her children in their school. That’s what stability looks like, and that’s what our volatility threatens.

“Through our Aging and Disabilities Resource Center, we also see a growing number of older adults on fixed income struggling with rising rents and housing costs. Many are choosing between housing, medication, or food.

“Housing stability is not just an affordability issue. It is a public health and aging issue. We need to increase housing supply through infill development and adaptive reuse. We need parking reforms and land-use modernization to lower costs and reduce development barriers. Our housing bill of rights and safe units we know work and should be used wherever possible. That gives structure and dignity.

“Affordable housing tax reform helps create long-term predictability, which protects renters from sudden changes. Housing production and housing stability must move forward. We must continue to create flexibility, implement these important policies, and monitor the effectiveness of this work. Until every Rhode Islander has a safe and stable place to call home, we continue the work.”

“Rhode Island’s housing crisis is not a new phenomenon,” said Melina Lodge, executive director of the Housing Network of Rhode Island. “It’s been four decades in the making. Along the way, a series of choices have been made, some large, some small, and some seemingly insignificant. Choices about how to invest state financial resources, about balancing local control against a broader state need, and about devising regulations that shape our built and natural environments. Over time, those choices have compounded, creating an environment where no community in Rhode Island can afford to buy a home, or where no household earning less than $50,000 a year can afford the average two-bedroom apartment.”

Lodge continued:

“One-third of Rhode Islanders are cost-burdened, spending more than 30% of their gross income just to keep a roof over their heads, and Rhode Islanders are acutely aware of this. In a poll conducted this past summer by the Rhode Island Survey Institute at the University of Rhode Island, 93% of respondents identified housing costs as a major problem. This isn’t a partisan issue. This isn’t a suburban, urban, or rural issue. This is a shared reality for Rhode Islanders. Today is about more than nine pieces of legislation. In fact, it’s more than even the 50 bills that have passed in the last five years. Every proposed bill, local ordinance, comprehensive plan update, and public hearing is an invitation to engage, debate, and discuss, and yeah, sometimes to disagree.

“If we remain open to listening, adapting, and working in partnership, we can build a housing system that is more equitable, accessible, and responsive to the needs of all Rhode Islanders. This package is a step in that direction. That’s the work before us. That’s the work worth doing, and I look forward to continuing to do it together.”