HARRISBURG — Finding ways to tackle Pennsylvania’s housing shortage has become a priority in Harrisburg.

In recent years, a growing number of state legislatures have passed bills aimed at building more housing. Pennsylvania hasn’t been one of them.

But state lawmakers in both parties appear to agree that should change this year. Committees in both the Democratic-controlled state House and the Republican-controlled Senate have approved multiple bills that seek to add more housing.

Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has thrown his support behind efforts to build more housing, unveiling a plan in February that outlined a broad range of policy solutions.

Pennsylvania needs to add 450,000 new housing units by 2035 in order to keep up with demand, according to the plan. Shapiro has said he wants the commonwealth to become a “national leader” on home construction.

Organizations representing local governments agree there is a housing shortage, but generally oppose any effort to reduce local control over land-use decisions or impose statewide zoning standards. They argue there are other ways to solve the problem, including more funding for municipalities and incentives for new development.

“Local leaders have a level of trust with residents that the state and federal government just don’t have,” said John Brenner, executive director of the Pennsylvania Municipal League, which represents more than 150 communities across the commonwealth.

The current legislative proposals range from making it easier for homeowners to add an extra unit to their lots, to streamlining local approval processes and offering financial incentives to communities that adopt pro-housing policies. Many of the bills received bipartisan support in committee, but have yet to be called up for a floor vote in either chamber.

Some of the policies under consideration have stalled in the legislature in previous years. But supporters say the politics of housing have taken on new urgency this year as residents continue to be squeezed by rising costs and affordability has become a key issue in the midterm elections.

“It’s very exciting that we’re seeing movement in both chambers and across the aisle right now,” said Nicole Brunet, program director at 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania, a nonprofit that advocates for adding more housing.

“Everyone knows we need to solve this problem — it’s how we get there.”

Under consideration in the state House

One of the most popular state-level housing reforms nationwide is to allow homeowners to build additional units, like granny flats or backyard cottages, on their lots. As of 2025, 18 states have passed laws to allow these structures, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts, a nonprofit research organization.

In Pennsylvania, some municipalities already allow this kind of housing, known as accessory dwelling units; others prohibit them, or require homeowners to navigate an approval process that can add delays and increase costs.

On June 1, the state House passed a bill that would allow additional units to be built in areas currently zoned for single-family housing without extra layers of review or approval at the local level. The bill is currently under consideration by the state Senate.

The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. John Inglis (D., Allegheny), said it would establish a clear statewide standard for building accessory dwelling units, calling it a “rational, reasonable” response to Pennsylvania’s housing crunch.

Accessory dwelling units could work especially well in Pennsylvania, where many cities have long narrow lots with attached houses and space behind them to build, said Charles Gardner, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center, a libertarian think tank.

The policy has “proven political support and has also proven its ability to deliver a large number of new housing units,” he said.

However, Logan Stover, director of policy and legislative affairs at the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs, told Spotlight PA via email that they oppose the bill because it would impose a “one-size-fits-all requirement” that disregards local considerations like neighborhood character, infrastructure capacity, and parking limitations.

In addition, he said, the bill would undercut the time and expense that municipalities that currently allow accessory dwelling units have spent developing local ordinances.