Delaware Housing & Housing Affordability Platform


More homes. Lower costs. Stronger communities. Responsible homeownership.


If you work here, serve here, raise a family here, retire here, or build your life here, you should have a fair chance to afford a safe and stable home here.

The Problem

Delaware is facing a housing affordability crisis that touches nearly every part of everyday life. Working families are struggling to afford rent. Young Delawareans are being priced out of homeownership. Seniors on fixed incomes are having trouble staying in their homes. Employers are having difficulty attracting and retaining workers because people cannot afford to live near available jobs. Housing affordability is not just a housing issue. It is an economic issue, a family stability issue, a senior security issue, and a quality-of-life issue. For too long, Delaware housing policy has been reactive instead of proactive. Delaware needs a practical, balanced, statewide approach that increases housing supply, protects existing communities, supports responsible development, expands real paths to ownership, and makes sure public dollars are used effectively.

Guiding Principles

Increase supply to lower pressure on prices. Delaware cannot solve housing affordability without building more housing. When demand grows but supply does not keep up, prices rise, rents rise, and working families get squeezed. Lower the actual cost of housing. Government should focus on removing unnecessary barriers that make homes more expensive to build, buy, rent, and maintain. Respect local communities while requiring real solutions. Local communities should have a voice, but local control cannot be used as an excuse to block needed housing everywhere. Protect affordability without crushing property owners. Housing policy should protect renters, homeowners, neighborhoods, and small landlords without creating rules so burdensome that they make the housing shortage worse. Demand accountability for public dollars. Housing programs should be measured by results: homes produced, costs, timelines, who benefits, and whether affordability actually improves.

1. Build More Housing Across the Income Spectrum

Delaware needs a statewide housing production strategy that increases the number and variety of homes available.

We support:

  • Expanding starter homes, townhomes, duplexes, apartments, senior housing, manufactured housing, and mixed-use housing.
  • Encouraging missing-middle housing such as duplexes, triplexes, cottage courts, small apartment buildings, and townhomes in appropriate areas.
  • Allowing accessory dwelling units, such as in-law suites, garage apartments, and backyard cottages, with reasonable safety and design standards.
  • Encouraging housing near existing infrastructure instead of forcing inefficient sprawl.
  • Promoting manufactured and modular housing as legitimate, lower-cost housing options where appropriate.
2. Reform Zoning and Land Use Rules That Drive Up Costs

Outdated zoning rules can make it illegal or impractical to build the kinds of homes Delawareans actually need. Excessive minimum lot sizes, unnecessary parking mandates, overly restrictive density rules, and slow approval processes increase costs and limit supply.

We support:

  • Reviewing local zoning codes to identify rules that unnecessarily block attainable housing.
  • Reducing excessive minimum lot-size requirements where infrastructure can support responsible growth.
  • Allowing more housing types in residential areas while protecting safety, infrastructure, and neighborhood character.
  • Reducing unnecessary parking mandates, especially in walkable areas and mixed-use developments.
  • Creating faster approval pathways for projects that include starter homes, senior housing, or other attainable housing.
3. Streamline Permitting and Cut Red Tape

Delays in permitting, inspections, approvals, and utility coordination add major costs to housing projects. Those costs are ultimately passed on to renters and buyers.

We support:

  • Clear, predictable permitting timelines.
  • Transparent online tracking for housing permits and approvals.
  • Pre-approved design templates for common housing types such as duplexes, townhomes, accessory dwelling units, and small apartment buildings.
  • Better coordination between state agencies, counties, municipalities, utilities, and environmental regulators.
  • Expedited review for projects that meet affordability, safety, environmental, and infrastructure standards.
4. Incentivize Builders to Build Starter Homes - Without Blank-Check Subsidies

Delaware needs more smaller, attainable starter homes. But the answer is not to use taxpayer dollars to inflate demand or push buyers into purchases they cannot afford. The better approach is to make it easier and less expensive for builders to produce the kinds of homes first-time buyers actually need. We support builder incentives that lower costs by removing barriers, not by handing out blank checks.

These can include:

  • Zoning flexibility for responsibly planned starter-home developments.
  • Reduced or scaled impact fees for smaller homes that place less demand on infrastructure.
  • Faster permit review for projects that include attainable starter homes.
  • Pre-approved plans for smaller home designs to reduce design and approval costs.
  • Smaller lot options where infrastructure can support them.
  • Clear infrastructure planning so builders know where growth is appropriate and communities know what to expect.

The goal is simple: lower the cost of producing starter homes so buyers face lower prices in the market.

5. Help First-Time Buyers Through Supply, Lower Costs, and Responsible Lending

First-time buyers need a housing market with attainable homes, not taxpayer-funded down payment giveaways. Delaware should help buyers by lowering the actual cost of housing, increasing the supply of starter homes, and protecting responsible lending standards. We oppose taxpayer-funded down payment giveaways, forgivable loans, or similar programs that transfer money from taxpayers to individual buyers for private home purchases.

We support:

  • Increasing the supply of starter homes and smaller home designs.
  • Reducing unnecessary regulatory costs that get passed on to buyers.
  • Encouraging land-use, zoning, and infrastructure policies that make attainable homes possible.
  • Protecting responsible lending standards so buyers are not pushed into homes they cannot afford.
  • Financial education that helps buyers understand budgeting, credit, mortgages, maintenance, insurance,and long-term affordability.
6. Protect Seniors and Help Delawareans Age in Place

Many seniors want to remain in their homes and communities, but rising taxes, maintenance costs, utility bills, accessibility needs, and fixed incomes make that harder.

We support:

  • Home repair and weatherization help for low- and moderate-income seniors when programs are transparent, targeted, and accountable.
  • Property tax relief targeted to seniors most at risk of displacement.
  • Support for accessibility improvements such as ramps, bathroom modifications, and safety upgrades.
  • Expanded senior housing options, including smaller homes, accessory dwelling units, and age-friendly communities.
  • Programs that help seniors avoid scams, predatory lending, and unnecessary displacement.
7. Preserve Existing Affordable Housing

Building new housing is essential, but Delaware must also preserve the affordable housing it already has. Older homes, manufactured home communities, naturally affordable apartments, and subsidized housing units are at risk of being lost to deterioration, redevelopment, rent increases, or conversion.

We support:

  • Preserving existing affordable rental units.
  • Repair loans or targeted programs for small landlords who keep rents reasonable and maintain safe homes.
  • Support for manufactured home community residents who want to purchase or preserve their communities.
  • Stronger monitoring of publicly subsidized housing to ensure units remain safe, livable, and affordable.
  • Rehabilitation of vacant or deteriorating properties where it is cost-effective.
8. Address Homelessness With Housing, Services, and Accountability

Homelessness is the most visible and severe result of housing instability. Delaware needs a compassionate but results-driven approach that helps people move into stable housing while addressing mental health, addiction, employment, domestic violence, disability, and other challenges that can contribute to homelessness.

We support:

  • Emergency shelter capacity where needed.
  • Rapid rehousing programs that move people quickly into stable housing.
  • Permanent supportive housing for people with complex needs.
  • Mental health and substance-use treatment connected to housing support.
  • Better coordination among state agencies, counties, municipalities, nonprofits, hospitals, and law enforcement.
  • Clear performance metrics, including exits to permanent housing, repeat homelessness rates, and cost effectiveness.
9. Make Renting Fairer and More Stable

Renters need basic fairness, predictable rules, safe housing, and protection from abusive practices. At the same time, Delaware must avoid policies that discourage small landlords from renting out homes or maintaining properties.

We support:

  • Enforcing safe and habitable housing standards.
  • Clear rules for security deposits, fees, lease terms, and repairs.
  • Mediation and rental support programs that prevent avoidable evictions when they are accountable and targeted.
  • Strong action against negligent landlords who allow unsafe housing conditions.
  • Support for small landlords who maintain affordable units and comply with the law.
  • Transparency around rent, fees, and tenant obligations before a lease is signed.
10. Use State Land, Public Assets, and Public Dollars Strategically

Delaware should identify underused state, county, municipal, and publicly controlled land that could support affordable, senior, or mixed-income housing.

We support:

  • A statewide inventory of public land suitable for housing.
  • Prioritizing housing near infrastructure, transit, jobs, and services.
  • Public-private partnerships that deliver measurable affordability.
  • Long-term affordability requirements when public land or public subsidies are used.
  • Transparent reporting on the cost, timeline, and outcomes of publicly supported projects.
11. Strengthen the Construction Trades

Even when housing projects are approved, Delaware needs enough skilled tradespeople to build them. Labor shortages can slow construction and increase costs.

We support:

  • Expanding construction trades education in high schools, vocational schools, and community colleges.
  • Apprenticeship programs tied to housing production.
  • Partnerships with contractors, developers, unions, and technical education programs.
  • Training for electricians, plumbers, HVAC workers, carpenters, equipment operators, inspectors, and building officials.
  • Encouraging young Delawareans to enter skilled trades that provide good-paying careers without requiring a four-year degree.
12. Improve Data, Transparency, and Accountability

Delaware cannot fix what it does not measure. Housing policy should be driven by accurate data and public reporting.

We support:

  • Annual reporting on housing supply, affordability, permits, vacancies, homelessness, evictions, and housing cost burden.
  • Public dashboards showing progress by county and municipality.
  • Clear tracking of state housing dollars and outcomes.
  • Regular review of whether programs are producing results.
  • Sunset reviews for ineffective programs and expansion of programs that work.
What We Oppose

We oppose policies that sound good politically but make housing more expensive, more scarce, more risky, or more complicated.

We oppose:

  • Endless studies without action.
  • Local rules that block nearly all new housing.
  • Taxpayer-funded down payment giveaways or policies that inflate demand without lowering actual costs.
  • Public subsidies without accountability.
  • Development that ignores infrastructure, traffic, flooding, schools, or environmental impact.
  • Policies that punish small landlords while failing to address the actual supply shortage.
  • One-size-fits-all mandates that ignore differences between New Castle, Kent, and Sussex Counties.
  • Letting large investors, insiders, or politically connected developers shape housing policy for their own benefit.
Bottom Line

Delaware needs a serious, practical, statewide strategy that increases housing supply, preserves affordability, protects vulnerable residents, expands real paths to homeownership, supports seniors, modernizes zoning, speeds up responsible construction, and holds government accountable for results. Delaware should make housing more affordable by increasing supply and lowering costs - not by using taxpayer money to subsidize risky purchases.

Source note: This revised platform removes the previous housing category language the user wanted deleted and removes
taxpayer-funded down payment assistance. It emphasizes supply, lower regulatory costs, starter homes, responsible lending,
senior stability, construction trades, and accountability.