Now that City Council has passed the first phase of the HOME initiative, and will be accepting permit applications beginning on February 5th, it's time to dig-in on the details. To help you take full advantage of this exciting opportunity, we've outlined a simple process below for quickly assessing the HOME potential of any property, covering some of these important questions and more!

Before we begin, make sure to join our waitlist to stay up to date with all things HOME.

Table of contents

1. What is HOME?
2. Where does HOME apply?
3. Determining development yield
4. Housing and development types
5. Who is HOME for?

What is HOME?

The Austin City Council initiated the HOME (Home Options for Middle-Income Empowerment) initiative through public engagement beginning in October 2023 and culminating in its passage in December 2023. It is intended to address several key issues:

• The demand for diverse housing types and increasing the overall housing supply by increasing the City's supply of "missing middle" housing.
• Provide homeowners with additional flexibility and options for their properties. This includes the ability to accommodate family members, caregivers, or earn additional income by increasing the number of homes on their property.
• Include provisions for tiny homes, making it easier to install a small, affordable house on a property, which contributes to the diversity of housing options available and addresses affordability.
• Create preservation and sustainability bonuses to incentivize the conservation of existing homes, which helps maintain neighborhood character and reduces waste by keeping materials out of landfills.
• Encourage the creation of smaller, more affordable "starter homes" by regulating the size and scale of houses, thereby supporting first-time homebuyers and those seeking affordable housing options.

The HOME initiative represents a strategic effort to update the City's Land Development Code (LDC) to better reflect the needs of a growing and diversifying city. By increasing the flexibility and options for property use, the initiative aims to make housing more accessible and affordable, particularly for middle-income families, while also preserving the character of neighborhoods and promoting sustainability

What HOME does:

• Allows three homes on properties zoned single-family (SF-1, SF-2, SF-3)
• Simplify regulations for building two homes on a single property
• Remove requirements for ADUs, duplexes, guesthouses
• Remove McMansion requirements for two/three unit uses (still required for one unit)
• Preserve existing homes with a bonus program
• Changes to occupancy requirements to remove limitations on the number of unrelated adults allowed to live together

What HOME does not do:

• Does not override site constraints or private limitations such as deed restrictions or HOA requirements
• 35' height limit remains in all zones
• Building cover and impervious area requirements remain unchanged

Updated development requirements

Where does HOME apply?

HOME applies to all properties zoned SF-1, SF-2, SF-3 within the Subchapter F — "McMansion zone". However, it does not override neighborhood planning district requirements nor private restrictions dictated by deeds, HOAs, etc.

Determining development yield

HOME does not eliminate the potential for single-unit development projects, but it does introduce an FAR "gradient" that provides increased floor area with increasing number of units — an incentive to maximize the number of units that can be built on a property.

Frequently asked questions about what can be built with HOME

How does it differ from the previous code requirements?

Previously Floor-Area-Ratio (FAR) requirements were held constant at 0.40 regardless of whether one or two units were being built on a property.

Where did the new area requirements come from?

City Council and staff worked closely with professional organizations such as the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Homebuilders Association (HBA), among many others, to understand how the unique characteristics of Austin's neighborhoods and development patterns aligned with other peer cities. The expertise provided by these organizations allowed the City to benchmark peer zoning reforms to understand how Austin's regulations could be adjusted to encourage similar density without adverse environmental impacts, displacement, and significant changes to the character and quality of existing neighborhoods.

What is included in the new Floor-Area-Ratio (FAR)?

Before HOME's reforms, understanding what was included in the calculation of a project's floor-area-ratio was complicated and included numerous exemptions that were hard to achieve. HOME dramatically simplifies the process by eliminating all exemptions, and now simply requires the inclusion of all enclosed built area (including garages).

How does HOME affect short-term rentals?

The short-term rental regulations introduced apply specifically to homes constructed after October 1, 2015. Under these rules, properties classified as duplexes or with two-unit usage are restricted such that one of the units cannot be rented out for more than 30 days within a year. Similarly, for properties with three-unit usage, two of the units are subject to the same rental limitation, not being allowed to serve as rentals for more than 30 days annually. These requirements aim to regulate the use of residential properties for short-term rental purposes, balancing the need for temporary lodging options with the maintenance of stable residential neighborhoods.

What about ADUs?

Accessory Dwelling Units are no longer defined as a use by the LDC and instead have been replaced by a broader array of use definitions. This simplifies the maximum unit size limitations and a whole host of design standards.

• Group Residential - use of a site for occupancy by 16 or more adults
• Multifamily Residential - use of a site for four or more dwelling units
• Tiny Home - dwelling unit that is 400 sf or less (further allowances to be made in Phase II of HOME)

Housing and development types

Before HOME, the housing types available to build on single-family properties were limited to detached units and duplexes. Now a much wider array of options are available, and when combined with the recent elimination of parking requirements, the design possibilities for urban infill housing on single-family properties are wide open. We've cataloged 15 viable scenarios here, but there are likely many more — watch this blog for updates.

Who is HOME for?

A special shout out to...

• ULI Austin Working Group
• AIA Austin Housing Advocacy Panel
• Ron Thrower
• Scott Turner
• AURA
• Texans for Reasonable Solutions