Rhode Island is making progress on its housing crisis, even if the challenge remains difficult, state lawmakers and advocates said Thursday.
On one hand, said House Speaker Joe Shekarchi, housing permits rose by 70% year-over-year in 2023, the most recent data available. That marks the largest increase since the Great Recession.
On the other, he added, housing prices continue to climb and Rhode Island remains attractive to out-of-state buyers, creating more demand for limited housing.
While introducing a package of proposed housing laws for the sixth time on Thursday, Shekarchi also noted that four people have frozen to death in Rhode Island this winter.
“We’re going to move and work hard with our partners to make sure that everyone, our neighbors, have a safe place to sleep at night,” he said. “That’s why this work must continue.”
The latest package is made up of nine bills the speaker hopes to pass this session. Some of the measures are aimed at increasing the housing supply by spurring private sector housing development. Others at making it easier to provide emergency shelter for those who need it.
One measure would modify the state building code to allow construction of apartment buildings with just a single staircase in buildings of up to four floors and 16 units. Another would enable the use of “supportive and functional emergency units” – such as pallet shelters – on a temporary basis during an emergency. Others would require at least 15 days’ notice for eviction of a homeless encampment, allow reuse of vacant state buildings when a development conforms to codes and zoning, and study the state’s law governing condominiums.
During a Statehouse news conference, Cortney Nicolato, CEO of the United Way of Rhode Island, pointed to another part of the challenge: almost half of people in the state are at risk to lose housing due to poverty or insufficient income.
“These are working families – healthcare aides, teachers, retail managers, municipal workers,” she said. “They earn too much to qualify for most assistance, but not enough to handle sudden rent increases.”
The median price of a single-family home has climbed to $499,000, a 7.3% annual increase, according to the Rhode Island Association of Realtors.
Previous steps by the legislature included approving the use of accessory dwelling units, creating a revolving fund meant to spur more housing, and efforts to cut red tape for housing construction.
State Rep. Stephen Casey (D-Woonsocket) offered a reminder that because it took decades for Rhode Island’s housing crisis to develop, solutions will also take time. “We are continuing to make meaningful progress,” he said, “and this session we’ll continue to do that.”
In related news, Democratic candidate for governor Helena Foulkes plans to outline her platform on housing next week. It includes using a millionaires’ tax to create a revolving fund meant to add 20,000 housing units over eight years, and to push for more modular housing.
Gov. Dan McKee has his own plan for creating more housing.
