Arizona House Republicans Champion Bills to Protect Affordable Housing Rights

Arizona House Republicans are pushing forward with legislation aimed at making housing more affordable and preserving individual rights to land division and homeownership, particularly in rural areas where land prices remain significantly lower than in urban centers. The House Committee on Land, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs recently advanced five bills that seek to make it easier for Arizonans to build homes and create more affordable housing options outside urban areas.

The bills, introduced by State Representative Gail Griffin, Chairman of the House Natural Resources, Energy, and Water Committee, include:

• HB2090 – Addresses legal actions and exceptions related to land divisions
• HB2091 – Modifies the process for reviewing land division submissions
• HB2092 – Implements new disclosure requirements for land divisions
• HB2093 – Establishes civil penalties for violations related to land subdivision laws
• HB2094 – Clarifies the definition of contiguous real estate for zoning purposes

“These measures are vital to ensuring that Arizona residents have the freedom to build homes in rural areas where land is more affordable,” said Representative Griffin in a press release. “Rural Arizona offers many people an affordable and peaceful lifestyle, and it’s crucial that we maintain the ability for individuals to build homes where they choose.”

The push for this legislation aligns with Arizona’s 2025 House Majority Plan, which emphasizes policies to reduce living costs and improve access to affordable goods, housing, energy, and resources for all Arizonans. One of the central goals of the plan is to make housing more affordable by expediting land development and streamlining permit reviews, both of which are reflected in these bills. By reducing bureaucratic hurdles, the legislation aims to help Arizonans build homes at lower costs, particularly in rural areas where property taxes are lower and land is more accessible.

Additionally, the 2025 House Majority Plan promotes policies that prioritize economic prosperity in Arizona by protecting the state’s low-tax, light-regulation environment, making it easier for businesses to grow and for individuals to keep more of their earnings. The plan also includes efforts to secure Arizona’s water resources for future needs, ensure affordable power, and protect private property rights.

“Not everyone wants or can afford to live in the city,” Griffin continued. “Some people seek lower property taxes or a quieter lifestyle outside urban areas, and the government should not stand in their way of achieving the American Dream of homeownership.”

These bills are part of a broader effort to reduce the cost of living and address the rising housing prices in Arizona’s urban areas. With the state facing similar housing challenges to those in Virginia, where Senator Glen Sturtevant has been working on measures to help first-time homebuyers, Arizona is looking to implement solutions that ensure the right to homeownership remains within reach for all residents.

One of the key elements of Arizona’s legislation is to preserve the legal threshold for land divisions, which allows individuals to divide land into five or fewer lots without facing the complex regulations typically required for large-scale developers. This practice has long been a way for Arizona residents to build homes affordably in rural areas, helping to maintain affordable housing options even as land prices in urban areas continue to rise.

However, as Representative Griffin pointed out, opponents are seeking to reduce the threshold for lot splits from five to one, which would eliminate this affordable housing option for many Arizonans. “Eliminating this hallmark of housing freedom and affordability would treat every new residential home constructed or manufactured in the state as a ‘subdivision’ for regulatory purposes,” she said. “This would force everyday Arizonans to comply with costly subdivision laws, which would effectively end the ability to build new homes in rural Arizona.”

In addition to the housing measures, the 2025 House Majority Plan focuses on reducing excessive regulations that impede development and ensuring that Arizona’s natural resources—such as water, energy, and minerals—are used responsibly to support both residential and business needs. The plan also includes reforms to streamline permitting processes and to protect private property rights, all of which are reflected in the bills moving forward in the legislature.

These changes come at a time when Arizona is grappling with rising housing prices and a shortage of affordable homes. By advancing these bills, lawmakers hope to make homeownership more accessible, especially in less-developed parts of the state. Arizona’s approach mirrors efforts in other states to balance growth with the need for affordable housing, emphasizing policies that support both economic development and the preservation of individual freedoms.

The bills will continue to be debated in the legislature, with the hope of passing policies that protect the right of individuals to live where they choose and build homes affordably. As the debate over affordable housing continues, Arizona’s efforts stand as part of a broader movement to preserve homeownership opportunities for working families and ensure that the American Dream remains within reach for all Arizonans.