Families rely on single-family homes. Illinois must relax zoning laws and lower minimum lot sizes to make them more affordable statewide.
The key to solving Illinois’ housing crisis isn’t ignoring single-family homes: it’s flexible zoning to make building them more efficient and affordable.
Right now, too many Illinois communities require tens of thousands of square feet to build one single-family home. The American Enterprise Institute estimated that by reducing those minimum lot sizes, Illinois could unlock 10,000 additional homes per year.
Of that, 9,000 homes would be in the Chicago metro area, 500 would be in Rockford and 400 in Peoria.
Illinois faces a growing housing shortage, estimated at 142,000 homes. The state will need to double its current housing production rate to keep up with demand, building roughly 227,000 homes in the next five years. That means every home the state can build counts.
The lack of housing is exacerbating affordability concerns. Around one-third of Illinoisans pay more than 30% of their income for housing costs – making it the least affordable state in the Midwest – and low-income families are especially burdened.
Faced with such shortages and cost burdens, housing advocates tend to focus attention on building more multi-family rental housing in large cities. While definitely important, that is only a partial solution. Single-family homes still play an important role in housing, particularly for growing families and low-income households.
Studio and one-bedroom apartments make up 60% of the units in large apartment buildings, which disincentivize family formation and can make intergenerational living difficult. By contrast, 76% of single-family homes have three or four bedrooms. That means enough space for relatives, roommates or children, which can lower the cost of housing overall.
For low-income residents, lower housing costs are especially important. Across the nation, 73% of low-income workers live in single-family homes. If we don’t figure out ways to build these units more affordably and land-efficiently, they will be the ones who suffer the most.
The problem in many Illinois communities is the minimum lot size for these homes is too large to be affordable or even space efficient. For example, in Hinsdale the minimum lot size in the single-family zone is 30,000 square feet. In Arlington Heights, it’s 15,000 – 20,000 square feet.
Naperville has some areas that allow single-family homes on lots of 13,000 square feet, but maintains additional “estate” zones where minimum lots are 40,000 square feet for a home.
If lot minimums are relaxed and subdivisions can be built with modest detached homes on smaller lots, land costs per home fall and more homes can be built on the same acreage. That supports affordability and accessibility of homes for families.
The bungalow belt of Chicago is a useful example. In Chicago, the largest minimum lot size for a single-family zone is 6,250 square feet. That’s less than half the minimum lot size in other Illinois cities. Many neighborhoods on the South and West sides fall under some form of single-family zoning. These areas have smaller, single-family detached homes on relatively compact lots, which historically helped create widespread homeownership opportunities for families.
If more communities adopt smaller lots, single-family homes can deliver housing for middle- and low-income buyers that will support raising families.
This reform should be paired with zoning flexibility to build more duplexes and townhomes – smaller units that can still provide low-income families with the opportunity for ownership at even more affordable prices.
The problem isn’t that single-family homes exist; it’s that zoning regulations have made them too large, too expensive and too limited. If Illinois embraces zoning flexibility – allowing smaller lots, modest homes, accessory units, duplexes and townhomes – it can meet affordability goals, support intergenerational living and build the volume of homes required to address Illinois’ housing shortage.
