Dallas mayor urges Congress to 'cut red tape,' boost private sector for more affordable housing

DALLAS - Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson appeared before members of Congress to talk about his ideas to increase affordable housing. He says he wants to rely on the ‘private sector’ to build more homes.

Dallas is the ninth-largest city in the U.S.

Johnson says the city has seen unprecedented demand for existing housing stock due to continued economic growth, leading to a record number of people moving here.

What they're saying:

Mayor Johnson was invited to testify before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs in Washington, DC on Wednesday.

The hearing was entitled "Housing roadblocks: Paving a new way to address affordability."

"I think we all agree here that we need to build more housing," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

Johnson believes the most effective way to bring down housing prices is to encourage the private sector to increase home building.

"I strongly believe the most effective thing Congress can do to make housing more affordable for everyday Americans is not to increase just another federal program that pours millions of taxpayer dollars into subsidizing the already-robust demand side of the housing equation," he said. "What I need right now as the mayor of Dallas, the heart of the fasting growing metro in U.S., is for Congress to reframe the narrative around homelessness and housing affordability by correcting the misconceptions that I just discussed."

Featured

article

Renting is now cheaper than owning, data shows: See the list of top markets

A new analysis shows that renting is cheaper than owning a home in all of the 100 largest US metros. See the cities where the gap is widest and what this means for renters and buyers.

The mayor says the city of Dallas has worked hard to reduce the time it takes to get a new residential building permit from 68 days in 2022 to what he says is just eight days in 2025.

"We've cut permitting times, streamlined zoning and worked with private developers to increase housing starts," the mayor told the committee.

Johnson says what the federal government can do is step aside and cut the red tape, which will encourage the private sector to build new homes of all price points faster.

Local perspective:

Councilman Chad West sits on the city's housing committee. He says part of the housing issue stems from companies and people relocating to North Texas from other parts of the country.

"I think the majority of council recognizes that affordable housing is a problem," he said.

That can make for tough buying competition.

Featured

article

Dallas Gentrification: City council examines ways to preserve affordable housing

City council members on Monday said the city has to strike a delicate balance between helping preserve and create affordable and market-rate housing while not stifling new development through cumbersome regulations.

"What happens is they buy housing for a little bit less they would normally pay for, and it trickles down to where the people who are really housing burdens have no options," said West.

West says the federal government does not need to add any new federal programs, but he said it would be greatly beneficial to provide additional funding to Housing and Urban Development programs that are already working in Dallas.

"We are actually one of the few major U.S. cities to actually reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness," he said. "And that's working in large part because of the federal subsidies that are coming in."

The backstory:

In 2024, the city announced it had effectively ended veteran homelessness through a program with the Department of Veterans Affairs, rehoming any veteran experiencing homelessness within 90 days. 

In 2023 alone, more than 520 veterans were rehomed.

However, Johnson says fighting homelessness in the city is ongoing, and he believes it will take more than affordable housing to tackle the issue.