Yes In God’s Back Yard, Kentucky Responds to the Need for Affordable Housing
During the 2026-27 Regular Session of the Kentucky Legislature, House Bill 333 was passed and signed into law by Governor Beshear. This legislation which went into effect on 7/15/26 will facilitate the development of affordable housing and provide assistance to the homeless by R religious I institutions. The Catholic Conference of Kentucky, an organization which represents the state’s four Roman Catholic dioceses in public policy matters, along with several housing advocacy groups, were instrumental in securing passage of HB 333.
Jason Hall, the Executive Director of the Catholic Conference, stated, “addressing the lack of affordable housing has been a consistent priority for our Bishops. This is a small but important first step in addressing the housing needs throughout the Commonwealth”, he continued.
The measure, widely referred to as “Yes in God’s Backyard,” is a valuable tool to allow properties owned by faith communities to be used to combat homelessness and provide reasonably priced rental housing for the poor and economically disadvantaged across Kentucky. The Bill outlines that housing developed by religious developers shall be considered permitted use and shall not be subject to permitting, review, or other regulations, except for ministerial review by a local planning unit. This will expedite the process of constructing new affordable housing units.
Similar “Yes In God’s Back Yard” initiatives are underway in the State’s of California and Washington and in Gainesville, Florida, St. Paul, Minnesota and in our neighboring municipality, Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Hall noted, “religious institutions with vacant and underutilized buildings will be looking to HB 333 to address these structures while meeting the housing needs of their neighbors.”
A 2024 analysis by the Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC), a quasi-governmental agency that works with partners to invest in and create affordable housing opportunities for low-and moderate-income Kentuckians, determined that the “housing supply shortage is Kentucky’s most pressing housing issue with a gap of 206,207 affordable housing units.” The passage of HB 333 allows KHC to provide technical and advisory resources to religious developers regarding affordable housing developments.
KHC’s analysis mirrors the 2023 Housing Data Analysis conducted by the Northern Kentucky Area Development Corporation which notes, “the region has a 5-year housing production need of 6.650 units, which equates to 1,300 units per year. About half of the new housing demand (3,260) is low-income residents earning up to 60% of the area median household income of $103,600. Current housing in Boone, Kenton, and Campbell is positioned for middle to upper middle professional incomes, but affordability for warehouse, service, and low wage healthcare workers is currently lacking.”
Aaron Wolfe-Bertling, Chair for the Voice For the Poor Committee, the advocacy arm of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Council of Northern Kentucky echoed the needs outlined by Mr. Hall and numerous housing studies, “we need to continue to work with our elected officials at all levels of government to secure the development of additional workforce and senior housing units.” In the past year alone the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Council of Northern Kentucky provided over $560,000 in rent assistance to help families avoid eviction. While HB 333 allows for a maximum of 24 units on correctly zoned buildings and property owned by religious institutions, it’s an important first step in addressing Kentucky’s housing crisis.
