Sen. Tina Smith’s bill would help us build more housing. State leaders should follow suit.
by Alexa Bobyak, Minnesota Reformer
October 29, 2025
From Minneapolis to rural towns like Fergus Falls, Minnesotans are struggling to find homes they can afford in the places they want to live. Our state is suffering an urgent housing shortage, and we need thousands more homes to meet our communities’ needs.
Northfield, for instance, doesn’t have enough starter homes to meet the demand of all the families that want to move there. And when there aren’t enough homes available, tough competition drives up prices and pushes out working families, retirees and other community members who can’t compete with the wealthy for the few available homes. That means health care workers, teachers, firefighters and other essential workers can’t live in the communities they serve. It means aging seniors or young adults can’t afford to downsize or find a starter home near their families.
During the 2025 legislative session, homeowners and renters across Minnesota advocated tirelessly for policies that would make it easier and more affordable to build homes, but we weren’t able to get zoning reform — to make it easier to build more affordable homes of all kinds — over the finish line.
As we gear up for statewide wins in 2026, we have new inspiration: U.S. Sen. Tina Smith is now championing the Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream — ROAD — to Housing Act in Congress.
The ROAD to Housing Act is a bipartisan package of legislation that would give states and cities more tools to reform outdated housing policy; streamline federal regulations to remove red tape that delays homebuilding; and create new opportunities for working people and rural residents to access loans and mortgages.
It’s the most significant housing solution legislation we’ve seen introduced in years, and can’t be passed soon enough.
The ROAD to Housing Act would support measures we’ve already seen succeed in Minnesota, like incentivizing cities and towns to reform outdated zoning policy. The legislation would help remove outdated parking mandates and allow flexibility for parking that matches local needs; invest in community development and streamline permitting for affordable homes; eliminate bans on smaller and more affordable home types, among other reforms.
I was especially excited to see Smith lead on the Rural Housing Service Reform Act, which would strengthen federal rural housing programs and remove barriers that rural residents face when pursuing homeownership.
At Neighbors for More Neighbors — an organization dedicated to securing abundant housing for everyone in Minnesota — we’re proud to have worked with Smith on these issues before. I applaud her latest work to address the housing shortage in our state, and nationwide, and hope that other federal, state and local leaders will soon follow suit.
Our U.S. House Reps. Betty McCollum and Ilhan Omar, for instance, have been champions for housing that our communities can afford. I’m grateful for their dedication and hope they soon have the chance to lead again on housing by working closely with the U.S. Senate to pass a major housing package, which hasn’t been done since 2008.
But we can’t wait for national changes to start local progress. We need to take bold statewide action to allow more homes in Minnesota by passing the Yes to Homes agenda at the Legislature next session.
With bipartisan leadership from state Reps. Mike Howard and Spencer Igo, and Sens. Lindsey Port and Jordan Rasmusson, the Yes to Homes agenda will finally bring more homes — that families can actually afford — to our state.
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