In April 2024, the Grand Rapids City Commission approved zoning changes to increase the city’s housing supply. These changes went into effect on May 23, 2024. Some of the changes include:
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- Group living. Allowing small-scale single-room occupancy (SROs), board houses, and transitional shelters in residential districts.
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- More units in one building. Reducing lot area and width requirements for homes with two to six units, and allowing multi-family developments with two to six units on certain streets.
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- Unrelated occupants. Increasing the number of unrelated people who can live together in a home or apartment from four to six.
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- Parking. Eliminating parking requirements for new housing developments in traditional neighborhoods that have six or less units.
The city also requires rental properties to have carbon monoxide detectors. As part of the Residential Rental Property Certification Program, Code Compliance inspects residential rental properties every 2, 4, or 6 years for interior and exterior conditions, mechanical systems, smoke detectors, and carbon monoxide detectors.