The City of Austin recently released its 2025-26 Proposed Budget, which contains a, “host of questionable projects and programs,” however, an overlooked issue within the budget is the increasing in fees relating to construction permits. Some permitting fees are increasing by over 200%, while others are astronomical raises.
Most notably, a 9077.2% raise on utility lines or street & drainage if the line is 5,001 linear feet and above. This is on top of a 95.5% increase in the base fee for these site plans/reviews.
Per the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), in 2023, Texas was, “the state with the highest number of single-family permits issued,” as well as, “state with the highest number of multifamily permits issued”.
Similarly, data from the National Association of Home Builders shows that the number of single-family permits issued by Texas to be 149,860 and 82,513 for multifamily permits for 2023.
The City seeks to cash in on Austin home prices falling. These increased costs to builders will no doubt be passed on to potential buyers, which could stagnate the fall of housing prices in the Capitol city.
The City should be lowering, not raising these fees and doing all that they can to help facilitate increasing housing supply.
