North Carolina Democrats are pushing two housing reform bills to address the state's affordable housing shortage. Sen. Woodson Bradley filed the "Let Them Build Act" Thursday, which streamlines environmental reviews to speed up construction timelines. The bill follows a House Democratic proposal called "Relieving Housing Bottlenecks," filed days earlier with the same goal.
Bradley's legislation targets regulatory delays that slow development projects. By expediting environmental assessments, the state aims to reduce barriers to new housing construction. The dual legislative push reflects growing urgency among Democrats to tackle housing affordability through faster permitting and approval processes.
Both measures attack the same problem from different angles. Environmental reviews often extend project timelines significantly, preventing builders from moving quickly to market. Accelerating these reviews could unlock housing supply and help ease North Carolina's tight inventory conditions.
The bills face an uncertain path in a Republican-controlled legislature. However, housing affordability remains a bipartisan concern in most states, and construction slowdowns affect both parties' voters. North Carolina's housing market has tightened considerably, with limited inventory pushing prices upward across the state.