Americans should be able to build their own housing without the massive burden and cost of modern permitting and zoning requirements.
Non commercial, owner occupied, owner builder homes on property 2 acres or more, outside of city limits, should have drastically reduced code requirements and streamlined process for building permits.
zoning, building codes and permitting costs have gotten to the point of making affordable housing even for those who own their own property and wish to build, prohibitively expensive and burdensome. New generations are not permitted to enjoy the same freedoms as our parents and grandparents did.
A lot of these requirements favor legacy housing much of which was built before such requirements existed, allowing existing housing owners to charge inflated rent and housing prices to inflate.
I suggest no cosmetic, energy efficiency or unreasonable density requirements.
Only basic safety and waste disposal requirements should be required.
This would allow the next generation to enjoy a taste of the freedom and access to housing our parents and grandparents enjoyed. It also extend benefit beyond the home owners/builders themselves by lowering the burden on existing housing stock lowering rents and home prices for all.