The 2026 Ohio governor's race has been dominated by negative political ads rather than policy conversations, but both candidates agree that something needs to be done about housing affordability in Ohio.
Vivek Ramaswamy (R) and Amy Acton (D) both acknowledge that housing affordability is a major issue, and have outlined approaches to solving it.
Ohio had the steepest home affordability loss across the entire U.S. from 2020-2025, per a recent report from the National Housing Conference. Its measure tracks the share of occupations able to afford a typically priced home with a 10% down payment. That share fell 40.97 percentage points in Ohio between 2020 and 2025.
A combination of property taxes, low housing supply, and rising prices contributed to Ohio's affordable housing shortfall. Acton and Ramaswamy both have plans to address affordability, but both face an uphill battle to getting those reforms across the finish line if elected.
Acton vs. Ramaswamy Housing Plans
Both candidates want to reduce housing costs for Ohio residents, particularly homeowners facing higher property taxes. Both also say Ohio needs more home construction. They differ on tax reductions, government spending requirements, and how they would approach building out more affordable housing.
Acton's property-tax plan would expand relief for qualifying seniors and offer rebates to some homeowners whose tax bills rise sharply. Her campaign has called for expanding the existing Welcome Home Ohio program, including streamlined permits to build new affordable housing and additional support for first-time buyers.
Ramaswamy wants to roll back property taxes toward pre-pandemic levels and limit future increases. He also wants to make it easier to build homes on small lots via zoning reform.
| Who Is Affected? |
Amy Acton's Proposals |
Vivek Ramaswamy's Proposals |
| Current homeowners |
Up to $1,000 in proposed rebates for qualifying households with income below $132,000, home value at or below $350,000 and property-tax increases over 4% year over year. |
Proposed rollback of property taxes toward pre-pandemic levels, possibly using 2021 as a benchmark, with future growth limits. |
| Senior homeowners |
Raise the Homestead Exemption income eligibility cap to $50,000, which the campaign says would reach about 55,000 additional homeowners. |
Potentially lower property taxes through the broader rollback, without a separate senior-specific measure in the published proposal. |
| First-time homebuyers |
Proposed first-time buyer support and expansion of housing construction programs. Amounts and eligibility have not been specified. |
Focus on permitting and land-use restrictions to encourage smaller-lot starter homes. No specific buyer grant or credit has been identified in the cited plan. |
Amy Acton's Housing Affordability Proposals
Acton's housing policies are focused on targeted relief: She proposes raising the Homestead Exemption household-income cap to $50,000 compared with $41,000 for tax year 2026, which her campaign says would extend eligibility to roughly 55,000 additional senior homeowners.
She also wants to provide property tax relief for homeowners with fast-rising tax bills. She proposes a property-tax spike rebate that would cover up to $1,000 for homeowners with household income below $132,000 and homes valued at $350,000 or less, when their annual property-tax bill rises more than 4%. It would not guarantee relief for every owner facing higher taxes.
She also wants tighter restrictions on tax-lien certificate sales and collection practices.
Acton also wants stronger state funding for public schools to ease pressure on local property owners, although increasing the state's contribution wouldn't automatically reduce an existing voter-approved levy.
Acton's campaign also told Columbus Underground it wants to expand Welcome Home Ohio, an existing state program supporting the acquisition, construction and rehabilitation of qualifying owner-occupied homes.
The campaign also called for more workforce housing, streamlined permitting, a Governor's Housing Council, public housing data, restrictions on corporate home purchases and assistance for first-time buyers. Detailed eligibility rules, funding amounts and production targets have not been announced for those proposed expansions.
Acton's proposals would also require additional state spending. Expanded property-tax rebates, homestead relief and housing development programs would need funding, while fully implementing the Fair School Funding Plan would require billions in additional education funding. Her campaign has not established a comprehensive funding plan for those commitments.
According to the Statehouse News Bureau, Acton has suggested revisiting tax breaks for high-income households and reducing spending on private-school vouchers as potential sources of fiscal flexibility, according to the Statehouse News Bureau.
Vivek Ramaswamy's Housing Affordability Proposals
Ramaswamy's published property-tax proposal calls for rolling property taxes back toward pre-pandemic levels and limiting future increases. He previously floated 2021 as a potential benchmark, but said in an October interview that the exact year has not been finalized.
He's said that proposal will bring $4 billion in homeowner relief, although opponents to his plan (like the progressive policy organization Innovation Ohio) say that lost income would mean gaps elsewhere.
Innovation Ohio estimates that returning property-tax collections to 2021 levels would reduce local revenue by $4 billion annually at current values, potentially growing to $6.6 billion by the time the rollback could be implemented. Those figures reflect the organization's modeled assumptions rather than a finalized proposal from Ramaswamy.
Ramaswamy argues that government efficiencies, economic growth and changes to state funding could offset some of that lost revenue. He has pointed to stronger-than-expected state revenue collections as evidence that tax reductions can support growth, and also said that replacing every lost local tax dollar one-for-one may not be necessary, while pledging to protect essential services. He has not provided a detailed accounting of how those measures would cover the reductions, according to WOSU.
Ramaswamy says existing debt obligations would be honored and new construction would not be affected. But his published plan does not fully explain how the rollback would handle voter-approved levies, individual tax districts or replacement funding for schools, counties, townships and emergency services. Reducing schools' dependence on local property taxes would likely require changes to state education funding or local spending.
Ramaswamy wants to encourage the construction of small, affordable starter homes through zoning reforms. In an October interview with the Cincinnati Business Courier, he described smaller-lot homes of roughly 1,600 to 1,700 square feet as a priority.
Smaller minimum lot sizes can allow more homes on a given amount of land and reduce the land required per home. But lower development costs do not guarantee lower sale prices, especially where demand is strong or infrastructure costs remain high. Ramaswamy has not established a finalized, detailed statewide zoning-reform bill.
He also wants to phase out Ohio's state income tax. That could increase disposable income for households that currently pay the tax, potentially leaving more money available for housing payments. The benefit would vary by household income and tax liability. But his simultaneous income- and property-tax reductions might affect the state's ability to replace local revenue or finance housing programs.
The Ohio General Assembly Will Have the Final Say
Neither candidate could enact these plans alone.
Ohio's governor can propose a budget, recommend legislation and sign or veto bills. Lawmakers will need to authorize most changes to tax laws, exemptions, rebate programs, revenues and appropriations.
And Ohio lawmakers have already taken action on property taxes: House Bill 186, which took effect on March 20th, creates an inflation-cap credit for certain school property taxes affected by minimum millage floors and rising property valuations. The Ohio Legislative Service Commission projected $432 million in credits for tax year 2025, $608 million in 2026 and $633 million in 2027.
The law also provides temporary supplemental payments to certain school districts affected by reduced property-tax revenue in 2026 and 2027.
Any additional tax reform will have to flow through the Republican-controlled General Assembly.
Republicans currently hold supermajorities in both chambers of the General Assembly, although the Nov. 3, 2026, election will determine the legislature that takes office with the next governor.
A Ramaswamy administration would still need lawmakers to decide how a broad rollback applies to local levies and how to accommodate schools and services that rely on them. An Acton administration would need appropriations and statutory changes to fund expanded rebates, homestead relief and construction programs.
Ohio's Home-Rule Laws Could Complicate Statewide Zoning Changes
Housing construction presents another obstacle: Much of Ohio's land-use policy is controlled locally rather than by state law. Article XVIII, Section 3 of the Ohio Constitution protects municipal home-rule authority, while Chapter 713 of the Ohio Revised Code addresses municipal planning and zoning.
Ohio municipalities have constitutional authority over zoning, but the state can supersede conflicting local ordinances through legislation that qualifies as a "general law" under the state's home-rule framework.
In Canton v. State (2002), the Ohio Supreme Court invalidated a state law overriding municipal manufactured-home zoning because it did not qualify as a general law. The decision established criteria for when state legislation can prevail over conflicting municipal regulations, rather than categorically prohibiting statewide zoning reform.
Some municipalities are already tackling zoning reform. In October 2026, Akron eliminated minimum residential lot sizes in certain older neighborhoods, allowing construction on parcels that had been too small under the previous zoning code.
The Bottom Line
Acton and Ramaswamy don't agree on much, but they do agree that Ohio's housing affordability needs to be addressed.
Acton's plan focuses on targeted homeowner relief and state-supported housing development. Ramaswamy wants broader tax reductions and fewer barriers to building starter homes.
Neither approach guarantees lower home prices or improved access to homeownership. Property-tax relief primarily reduces costs for existing owners, while buyer assistance and new construction address different barriers to affordability.
Each approach could affect housing costs, but the actual results would depend on the legislation enacted, the funding available and local development conditions.
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