Republican-led General Assembly Passes Regulatory Reform That Expands Housing And Supports Small Business
This week, the Republican-led North Carolina General Assembly passed the Regulatory Reform Act of 2026, which provide a wide-ranging package that removes burdensome regulations, protects property rights, expands affordable housing, and supports small businesses, workers, and military families. The legislation passed the both chambers with significant bipartisan support. The is now headed for Governor Stein’s desk for his approval or veto.
House Regulatory Reform Co-Chair Dennis Riddell (R-Alamance) said, “The less time people have to spend dealing with unnecessary regulations, the more time they can spend starting a small business or building affordable places to live. These reforms clear away many of those obstacles, and that’s great news for all North Carolinians.”
Here are some key components of the legislation:
Protects property owners by:
Safeguarding homeowners’ right to display the U.S. and N.C. flags by limiting unreasonable HOA and condominium restrictions.
Giving developers additional time to preserve vested development rights following emergency declarations, helping communities recover and rebuild after disasters like Hurricane Helene.
Expands housing opportunities by:
Allowing accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in larger municipalities, creating more affordable housing options while preventing unreasonable local restrictions and fees.
Making it easier to redevelop vacant or underused commercial and industrial properties into housing in our largest urban counties, increasing the housing supply where it is needed most.
Supports businesses and workers by:
Giving qualifying military-owned businesses more time to file annual reports during and after deployments while waiving associated filing fees.
Creating voluntary portable benefit accounts so independent contractors can keep benefits like health insurance and retirement savings as they move between jobs.
