ABSTRACT
Most people who know anything about housing recognize that local government regulations substantially increase housing prices. In particular, much new housing costs a lot more than it needs to because of lengthy delays in obtaining planning permission and building permits, unnecessarily expensive additional construction requirements, minimum lot sizes or building sizes and set-back requirements, severe obstacles to creation of multifamily units, and widespread suburban hostility to anything approaching low-cost housing anywhere nearby. Therefore, the interesting issues are not whether or how local government regulations affect housing costs, but why do local governments keep adopting such regulations, and what can be done to change their behavior?
