Policymakers’ Guide:
Zoning & Housing Needs Assessments
A housing needs assessment estimates how many homes a community needs, for which households, and at what prices. Turning those findings into action usually leads to the same question: do local rules allow the housing the assessment calls for?
What is covered in a housing needs assessment?
A housing needs assessment (HNA) identifies the type and amount of housing a community or region needs so that households at all income levels can find a home they can afford. Many assessments require:
Demographic and economic trends: population, households, incomes, jobs and wages
Housing inventory: the number, type, age and condition of existing homes, including income-restricted units
Market conditions: home prices, rents, vacancy and recent construction
Housing problems: cost burden, overcrowding, homelessness and displacement risk
Current and projected need: how many homes are needed, sorted by income level and housing type
Recommendations: policies and programs to close the gap
Assessments are increasingly required by state law, often on a regular update cycle, and they set the agenda for comprehensive plans, housing action plans and funding decisions.
What role does zoning play?
Zoning doesn't drive the core estimate of housing need. But it shapes what a community can do about that need, and it typically enters an assessment in three places:
Barriers to development: Many assessments review how zoning, subdivision rules and permitting affect what gets built, alongside land, labor and infrastructure costs.
Recommendations and action plans: When an assessment finds a shortage of a particular housing type, the follow-up question is whether zoning allows that type, where, and how easily.
Land capacity: Some states require local governments to show that their zoning can accommodate projected need, such as housing element site inventories in California and land capacity analyses in Washington.
The zoning questions worth assessing.
A measurable zoning analysis shows how well a community's current rules match the housing need identified in its assessment. Key questions include:
How much residential land allows only single-family homes?
Where are two- to four-unit homes and apartment buildings allowed, and are they allowed by right or only after a public hearing?
What minimum lot sizes apply, and how do they limit the number of homes per acre?
Where are accessory dwelling units allowed, and with what restrictions?
How do parking requirements and overlay districts change what can be built?
How do the rules compare with neighboring jurisdictions in the same housing market?
How can Land Use Labs help?
Land Use Labs produces zoning data standardized across jurisdictions, so the rules behind an assessment's recommendations can be mapped, summarized and compared on the same terms.