Florida is facing a shortfall of 486,000 of homes. So let’s reduce lot sizes | Opinion
Florida’s rapid growth is one of our state’s greatest strengths but it has also become one of our biggest challenges.
Each day nearly 800 people move here for a better quality of life. We have a lot to offer: warmer weather, job opportunities and family-centered communities. But waiting to meet new residents is a housing market where demand far exceeds supply and home prices are out of reach for many.
Florida is facing a shortfall of 486,000 homes according to the American Enterprise Institute’s Florida Housing Playbook. This crisis needs immediate action.
If we want Florida to remain affordable, we need real solutions that make the housing market accessible. Fortunately, there are simple steps the Legislature can adopt in 2026 to expand opportunity for potential homeowners.
One of the most effective reforms would be reducing minimum lot size requirements. Updating these rules would make it possible to build more starter homes for young families, which have become increasingly rare in recent decades.
Today many local governments require single-family homes to occupy unnecessarily large lots. These outdated mandates restrict how much housing can be built while driving up existing costs for buyers.
By reducing minimum lot sizes, builders can construct more homes on less land and increase supply and affordability for everyone. Reducing minimum lot sizes helps families achieve the American dream of homeownership.
Lowering lot size requirements is about more than economics; it is about freedom and opportunity. Families should be able to purchase homes that fit their individual budget and lifestyle, regardless of whether it’s a larger house with a fenced backyard or a smaller home. Florida’s current regulations take that choice away.
Texas lawmakers have made important steps forward on this issue. In 2025 lawmakers passed a bill reducing minimum lot sizes of new developments to 3,000 square feet in major cities in comparison to their original 5,000 to 7,500 square foot mandate. This created new flexibility and more attainable housing options for more families. Texas recognized that outdated zoning barriers suffocated its housing market and leaders acted quickly. Florida should do the same.
In addition to lowering minimum lot sizes, lawmakers should pursue expanding access to accessory dwelling units known as ADUs. These are small secondary units built on the same property as an existing home. ADUs can provide affordable housing for seniors on fixed incomes, for young professionals and for families who need flexible living arrangements.
Yet many local ordinances make them difficult to build and some completely ban them. Removing these restrictions would provide a more affordable housing option while helping existing homeowners generate extra income or have the capacity to care for a loved one.
It’s critical to understand that these reforms wouldn’t lower standards or quality of life. They simply create options for homeowners by eliminating red tape that keeps Floridians from succeeding.
Reducing lot size requirements doesn’t mean cutting corners, it means providing more accessibility and flexibility. Encouraging ADUs doesn’t mean crowding neighborhoods, it means using land more efficiently to meet our state’s current needs.
Florida has a decision to make. We can either maintain the status quo of rising costs and shrinking affordability or we can act with common sense to expand supply and bring homeownership within reach for more families. Lawmakers have the power to change the housing narrative in Florida.
By advocating for reducing minimum lot sizes and expanding ADU allowances, lawmakers can shatter the housing barrier and keep homeownership within reach for more Floridians. These practical proven solutions position us to better compete with states like Texas.
Together we can guarantee that every Floridian has the freedom to find a home that fits their needs and budget.
Skylar Zander is the state director of Americans for Prosperity-Florida, a conservative grassroots organization founded by billionaire industrialists Charles and the late David Koch to advocate for limited government, individual liberty and free-market solutions to economic and social challenges.
