Unlikely allies plan to work together to tackle Arizona’s housing crisis

Housing affordability has been a consistent concern for Arizonans in recent years, and lawmakers have taken notice.

Last week, a group of state legislators from across the political spectrum—far-right conservatives, moderate Democrats and Republicans, and progressives—announced the formation of a bipartisan housing and homelessness caucus, but they are not yet in agreement on any one proposal.

The members present at a press conference announcing the formation of the caucus include:

• Rep. Anna Abeytia, D—Maryvale
• Rep. Aaron Marquez, D—Phoenix
• Rep. Leo Biasucci, R—Lake Havasu City
• Rep. Walt Blackman, R—Show Low
• Rep. Selina Bliss, R—Prescott
• Rep. Janeen Connolly, D—Tempe
• Rep. Mariana Sandoval, D—Goodyear
• Rep. Sarah Liguori, D—Phoenix
• Sen. Catherine Miranda, D—Phoenix
• Sen. Analise Ortiz, D—Maryvale
• Rep. Betty Villegas, D—Tucson
• Rep. Justin Wilmeth, R—Phoenix
• Rep. Lorena Austin, D—Mesa

The group will meet biweekly with housing and homelessness experts, stakeholders, and advocates during “lunch and learn” meetings in an attempt to circumvent partisan bickering and pass as much housing legislation as possible.

Bliss called the formation of the caucus a “multi-pronged approach,” with each member bringing forward a bill that addresses a different layer of Arizona’s housing crisis.

Members of the caucus have either already introduced legislation or plan to introduce housing-related bills in the coming weeks.  Here’s some of what has been introduced so far:

• Protections from predatory landlord practices for mobile home tenants
• Prohibits source of income discrimination, meaning landlords can’t turn away prospective tenants that use public housing vouchers
• Requires landlords to distribute information regarding eviction prevention to all tenants
• $7 million for housing assistance and eviction prevention for the elderly
• Increases budget for state’s housing and homelessness trust fund and commits portion of funds to rural housing development
• Bans municipalities from enacting “aesthetic mandates,” which are  zoning requirements that limit which building materials can be used, resulting in higher-cost housing
• Expands eligibility for residential housing development on land zoned for commercial buildings
• Creates grant programs to help cities to build homeless shelters
• Prohibits cities from fining short-term rental owners and expedites rental permit suspensions for areas that require permits
• Expands tax breaks designed for non-profits that offer federally subsidized housing for the elderly to for-profit businesses
• Outlines training requirements for mobile home park landlords
• Allows municipalities to create permit fees for multi-family housing developments, like apartment complexes, and offer accompanying incentives like fee waivers

An increasingly unaffordable place to live

Home and rent prices in Arizona have continued to rise, and have been among the worst in the nation — in a state that was once one of the most affordable.

“There are so many different layers to this crisis, and it’s not just one bill,” said Ortiz. “Not one bill is ever going to be the magic bullet to this crisis. It’s going to take a lot of different pieces of legislation, working together, a lot of different agencies working together, and that’s what our bipartisan housing process is going to be focused on.”

In 2024, Arizona landed a spot on a top-10 list of least affordable states to buy a house and among the top 15 most expensive states to be a renter.

Roughly 10% of Arizona renters have been the victims of price gouging at the hands of property management companies.

“This is a human issue,” said Blackman. “A responsibility as leaders that we have in the Arizona House and Senate to make sure that we not only enhance the legislation, but make sure that every single family in Arizona has that opportunity to be able to buy a house.”

Building on past success

Last year’s legislative session did produce some change to ease Arizona’s housing affordability crisis — but not to the extent that lawmakers intended to achieve.

One bill the legislature passed was taken off the table by Gov. Katie Hobbs: the Arizona Starter Homes Act. If signed into law, it would have increased the housing supply in Arizona to meet demand by expediting home construction across the state, which in turn was expected to decrease costs for renters and buyers. Hobbs vetoed the proposal, citing “unclear outcomes” and a lack of “nuance necessary for statewide reform.”

She did sign into law several other major housing bills—here’s what they do:

• Legalized casita rentals so single-family homeowners can utilize unused space on their property and offer more affordable options for renters
• Streamlined the approval process for developers to build what’s known as middle housing: duplexes, triplexes, and townhomes
• Expanded eligibility for commercial buildings like office spaces to be converted into housing units
• Standardized and streamlined the zoning application process statewide

Lawmakers in the caucus hope to have open communication between the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, a lobbyist group that advocates on behalf of municipalities. The league was one of the main critics of the Arizona Starter Home Act, and has opposed similar legislation that aimed to trade local control for statewide standards.

Biasucci, who was the main sponsor of last year’s Arizona Starter Homes Act, plans to bring a version of the bill back this legislative session.

“We won’t agree on everything, but … we can amplify the voices of those who are most affected by these issues and advocate for the areas where we do have common ground,” said Ortiz. “We have senior citizens on fixed incomes living in their cars, none of us should be OK with this situation.”

Missing from the caucus are any members of the ultra-conservative Arizona Freedom Caucus, which has previously been opposed to housing-related measures.

But the Freedom Caucus’ opposition could inadvertently pave the path for more progressive policies in the housing caucus’ proposals, as losing votes from the far-right means they’ll have to court votes from Democrats. Ortiz told The Copper Courier that Republicans will need to meet halfway on rent control, legislation protecting renters, and eviction prevention, something they have not been willing to budge on previously.

While lawmakers in the caucus are all working on bills focused on improving housing affordability and homelessness prevention, it doesn’t mean that everyone is in consensus or endorsing one another’s legislation, Ortiz said. Compromise will be required to fill in those gaps and secure the necessary votes.

Liguori emphasized sustainable solutions that benefit all Arizonans—not just the struggling middle class—are vital, because rising housing costs have broader implications of continuing cycles of poverty and costing taxpayers more money.

“Every individual deserves a safe and stable place to call home regardless of their income, regardless of their background,” Liguori said.

*Correction: The list of caucus members has been updated since this article was originally published.