Government officials in North Las Vegas have come up with a unique solution for homelessness: kick people out of their home and then bulldoze the house.
A Nevada non-profit, New Leaf Community, purchased land and erected fifty square foot structures. The tiny houses had a window and locking door. The houses allowed homeless individuals some privacy and security. City officials, however, saw things differently. Citing violations of the city’s building code and land-use regulations, officials demolished the houses. Instead of having a safe place to sleep, the residents found themselves back on the street.
This story is just one example of how government policies have created and exacerbated the homelessness problem. In virtually every city in America, government policies prohibit affordable housing, such as multi-family housing, mobile homes, accessory dwelling units, or tiny houses. And the cost of the housing that is allowed is arbitrarily inflated by building codes and land-use regulations.
The housing crisis, including homelessness, is essentially a supply problem. The demand for inexpensive housing greatly exceeds the supply. Government policies make it nearly impossible to build affordable housing for low- and middle-income households.
As New Leaf Community, Boxabl, and many other businesses and non-profits demonstrate, the knowledge and technology to build inexpensive housing exists. What doesn’t exist is the freedom to do so.