Tell the Local Government Committee to Increase Private Property Rights!

I am writing to ask you to vote to expand private property rights in Montana by voting yes on H.B. 337 to reduce the minimum lot size requirement to 2,500 square feet. It's time to stop the government from outlawing market-driven affordable housing.

Instead of subsidizing housing by taking money from fellow struggling Montanans, let people build on their land and increase the housing supply. We are not looking for a handout or even a hand-up; we are asking for more freedom to allow us, the people, to solve this issue on our own. 

Basic economics tells us why housing costs are getting out of control, and that answer is a lack of supply. According to the Frontier Institute, over “70% of Montana’s most in-demand residential areas outright prohibit or penalize affordable multi-family housing development.​” This makes housing scarce and substantially drives up the cost of renting or owning a place to live. 

The government cannot fix something it broke in the first place by doubling down on intervention and subsidizing artificially high home prices. The only solution to lower the price of any good is to create more of it. Unfortunately, local governments have made it impossible for the market to function as it always has by continuing to offer better quality goods at lower prices over time. 

The individual customer and builder are the people best positioned to determine how and where they want to live, not the government. By supporting this bill, you are supporting deregulation that requires developers to conform to the lot sizes dictated by the government, not the people.  

By voting for this bill, you will give more private property rights back to Montanans and make meaningful strides in lowering the cost of housing for our residents. This will allow the housing type to truly meet the needs of the people through the market itself.