Two Fixes For America’s Housing Problem

Inflation remains the top economic problem for Americans, and high housing prices are the biggest contributor to inflation. Zoning and land-use reforms that make it easier to build housing make housing more affordable, and dozens of such reforms have been enacted over the last few years with more on the way. This is great, but we must do more. In addition to land-use reforms, policymakers should change building codes to allow single-stair apartment buildings and permit market-based solutions that unlock housing that already exists.

A new report from Pew Charitable Trusts explains how revising building codes to allow apartment buildings to have only one staircase can boost the supply of multifamily housing. Currently, only three major U.S. cities—New York, Seattle, and Honolulu—allow apartment buildings with four to six stories to have only one staircase. This is a serious policy mistake that has significant costs.

Increasing the density of housing on vacant or underused lots in cities, often called infill development, is crucial for expanding the housing supply in some of America’s most high-opportunity areas. The two-stairway requirement leads to land being underused since it is hard to construct two-stairway buildings on the small or irregularly shaped lots often found in cities. As the figure below shows, single-stair buildings tend to have a smaller footprint than the two-stairway, double-loaded corridor buildings most apartment dwellers are familiar with. Single-stair buildings can have a variety of layouts, and this flexibility makes it easier for developers to build multifamily housing in tight spaces.

Single-stair buildings have other benefits, too. Without the long corridor bifurcating the building, more units can have windows on multiple walls, which improves air flow and lets in more natural light.

Single-stair buildings also provide more rentable space and are cheaper to build. As the Pew study reports, a 2024 analysis of the Boston area found that single-stair buildings have efficiency ratios—the ratio of rentable floor area to common space—that are ten percentage points higher than similar-sized two-stairway buildings. Researchers have also estimated that adding a second stairway to a six-story apartment building can increase construction costs by 6% to 13%. The combination of more rentable space and lower costs means allowing one staircase will make more apartment buildings profitable, which will encourage more multifamily construction.

A common concern about single-stair buildings is that the lack of a second staircase makes them more dangerous in case of fire. It turns out this fear is overblown. In New York City, the overall rate of fire deaths in its modern single-stair buildings has been the same as in other residential buildings since 2012. Modern sprinklers and non-combustible construction materials eliminate the need for a second stairway in smaller apartment buildings.

In addition to building more housing to bring prices down, we could use the housing that already exists more efficiently.

Single-room occupancy housing, think early 20^th century boarding houses, used to be common as one of the first rungs on the housing ladder. They provided shelter for immigrants, domestic migrants, people transitioning between living arrangements, and anyone else looking for a relatively cheap roof over their head. This type of housing has largely disappeared, much to our detriment.

PadSplit, headquartered in Atlanta, is bringing this important housing option back. It helps property owners convert rental properties into safe and affordable co-living homes. It currently has over 18,000 units across 21 markets housing more than 38,000 people.

PadSplit is a market-based solution to a pressing national problem—the lack of affordable housing. Hosts earn revenue for renting out rooms while renters get quick and easy access to housing they can afford. Renters can move in within two days of approval, and according to PadSplit’s founder, Atticus LeBlanc, residents report saving $366 per month on average. PadSplit is an especially valuable option for people trying to get back on their feet since it does not require a deposit, a minimum credit score, or a long-term lease.

PadSplit has clashed with local governments over various occupancy restrictions, such as limits on the number of unrelated people who can live together. Local governments should proactively reform these outdated restrictions so PadSplit can continue to address America’s housing problem.

America’s housing problem is so severe that we need to approach it from all angles. Zoning and land-use reforms that make it easier to build; permitting reforms that speed up the construction process; building code reforms that allow more flexible layouts; and creative market-based solutions like PadSplit that better utilize the housing we already have. Together, these fixes will make housing more affordable for families across the country.