Texas housing law spurs apartment boom, while suburbs push back

Texas’s SB 840 lets owners redevelop offices, shopping centers, and warehouses into apartments, fueling thousands of new units (at least 8,400 so far) across 19 large cities; statewide multifamily permits have fallen, but those in cities that relaxed zoning have risen. The policy is controversial in suburbs, where higher density and added requirements spark resistance, even as supporters argue that more housing supply can help ease affordability and rents.