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4/30/2026
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House approves Rep. Casey bill to spur housing development in areas with existing infrastructure
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Bill is part of Speaker Shekarchi’s 2026 legislative package addressing the housing crisis in Rhode Island
STATE HOUSE — The House today approved legislation sponsored by House Municipal Government and Housing Committee Chairman Stephen M. Casey to allow property owners in areas with water and sewer capacity to subdivide property for single family residential development under certain limited conditions and requirements. The bill is one of the nine bills from House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi’s 2026 legislative package to help address the state’s housing crisis.
“As chair of the Municipal Government and Housing Committee, I’ve seen firsthand the depth of our state’s housing crisis and I applaud Speaker Shekarchi for working to address the crisis for the last five years since becoming Speaker,” said Chairman Casey (D-Dist. 50, Woonsocket). “This bill helps address the crisis by providing an additional tool for qualifying properties to spur construction of single-family housing in areas with the existing infrastructure to support them.”
The legislation (2026-H 8007) would allow the subdivision, by right, of an existing lot with public water and sewer service, with certain limitations. The bill would allow a maximum of three new lots per subdivision, restricted to single family detached residential use and the resulting lots would need to be at least 75% the size of the area’s average single family residential lot and be located on an existing improved public street.
The bill received supportive testimony in committee from the Housing Network of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Hospital Association and the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns.
The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.
For more information, contact:
Tristan Grau, Publicist
State House Room B20
Providence, RI 02903
401.222.4935
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