KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A new law is aimed at helping alleviate the housing crisis in the state and let builders build housing quicker.
Governor Bill Lee was in Knoxville on Tuesday to sign the bill. SB 2100 was introduced by Sen. Jack Johnson (R - Franklin) and sponsors of the bill said it is aimed at helping streamline the building process. They said with more housing built quicker, costs for builders may be lower and so buyers may face a lower price
“Knoxville is booming,” says David Healy, a homebuilder in the Knoxville area. “It’s exploding.”
Rep. Kevin Vaughan (R - Collierville) said during a House session that the bill would establish a standard for builders who want to use third parties, putting in place expectations and requirements for those developers.
“There are more homes being built and more buildings being built,” said Gov. Lee. “The cost of building a home has gone up, and what we don’t want to do is add to that cost with an extended permitting process.”
To build a new house, the home must go through several inspections and receive multiple permits.
“It’s all-encompassing. It covers the electric, plumbing, the framing,” said Dan Mitchell, the Secretary and Treasurer for the Home Builder Association of Tennessee. “And that’s under the umbrella of one permit. But there are different inspections that go along the way.”
Right now, builders must get those permits from a local or state government official. The inspections and permits can take up to several weeks to be approved in some counties.
Under this new law, builders can pay for third parties to do inspections and issue permits, hoping to cut the wait times for permits significantly. Once those documents are approved, builders can start actually building homes quickly.
“In the world of construction, time is money,” said Mitchell. “The quicker we can complete the home, that means the sooner the homeowner can move into it. That saves money because interest payments nowadays, the length of time to build a home, and that’s ultimately passed on to the customer.”