Before the VoteA project of the Delaware Association of REALTORS® Get Alerts

State Legislation · Regulations · Your Home

Dover decides.
You should know before the vote.

Legislative Hall, the Delaware State Capitol in Dover, its white cupola and weathervane above the brick facade, with a bronze statue of colonial-era soldiers in the foreground.
Legislative Hall · Dover · where the General Assembly meets

Every session, bills move through the Delaware General Assembly and regulations come out of state agencies. They affect what your home is worth, what you're allowed to do with it, and whether the next generation of Delawareans can afford one at all. Most residents hear about these decisions after they pass. Our members are in those rooms in Legislative Hall, and we'll make sure you hear about it first.

A PUBLIC CAMPAIGN OF THE DELAWARE ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
4,100+ MEMBERS ADVOCATING FOR DELAWARE HOMEOWNERS

Now Tracking
153rd General Assembly · adjourned 30 June 2026 HB 283 Widens family exemptions to the realty transfer tax · Sent to the Governor HB 461 Caps school tax increases after reassessment · Sent to the Governor HB 462 Split school tax rate for homes and businesses · Sent to the Governor HB 460 Building permit data feeds county assessments · Sent to the Governor HB 416 Would cut the realty transfer tax by ¼ percent · Returns in 2027 HB 286 Would exempt homes under $350,000 from the state transfer tax · Returns in 2027 HB 73 Would double the senior property tax credit to $1,000 · Returns in 2027 SB 343 Would create first-time homebuyer savings accounts · Returns in 2027 153rd General Assembly · adjourned 30 June 2026 HB 283 Widens family exemptions to the realty transfer tax · Sent to the Governor HB 461 Caps school tax increases after reassessment · Sent to the Governor HB 462 Split school tax rate for homes and businesses · Sent to the Governor HB 460 Building permit data feeds county assessments · Sent to the Governor HB 416 Would cut the realty transfer tax by ¼ percent · Returns in 2027 HB 286 Would exempt homes under $350,000 from the state transfer tax · Returns in 2027 HB 73 Would double the senior property tax credit to $1,000 · Returns in 2027 SB 343 Would create first-time homebuyer savings accounts · Returns in 2027

Why It Matters

Three things worth defending in the First State

Delaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution, a document built in part on the promise that property rights matter. That promise still needs defenders in Legislative Hall.

I.

Homeownership

Your home is likely the largest investment you'll ever make. Transfer taxes, reassessments, and fee changes directly affect what it costs to buy, keep, and pass on a Delaware home. We fight to keep ownership within reach, and to protect the equity you've already built.

II.

Private Property Rights

State laws and agency regulations decide what you can and can't do with property you own, from rental rules to land use to how your title transfers. We watch for the ones that reach onto your deed, and we speak up when government overreaches.

III.

Housing Accessibility

Teachers, nurses, first responders, and young families should be able to afford a home in the communities they serve. We advocate for state policies that grow housing supply and expand attainable options across Delaware, because a state where only some can afford to live here isn't the Delaware we know.

How It Works

We sit through the hearings so you don't have to

Legislative and regulatory language is dense on purpose. Here's what happens between a bill being filed in Dover and an alert landing in your inbox.

1

We monitor

Our advocacy team reads what is filed in the Delaware General Assembly and what is published in the Delaware Register, watching for anything that touches housing, property or land use.

2

We translate

We read the bill text and the regulatory fine print, then tell you what it actually means: what it would cost you, what it would change, and when the vote or public comment period happens.

3

You act

When it counts, we make it easy: which state legislators to contact, when committee hearings are held, and how to submit comment before a decision about your home gets made without you.

One General Assembly. Every doorstep.

Delaware is small enough that a single vote in Dover reaches the whole state at once. Add your ZIP code when you sign up and we will tell you which state senator and representative the decision runs through, so when it matters you know exactly who to write.

New CastleNorth KentDover sits here SussexSouth

What's At Stake

Decisions that reach Delaware doorsteps

These are the kinds of issues that move through Legislative Hall and state agencies, often with little public notice:

  • Property tax and reassessment legislation that changes tax bills for hundreds of thousands of Delaware households.
  • Transfer tax rates among the highest in the nation, adding thousands to every home purchase.
  • Landlord-tenant code changes that redefine the rights of owners and renters statewide.
  • State housing and land-use policy that determines whether new attainable housing can be built at all.
  • Manufactured-housing and common-interest community legislation affecting some of Delaware's most affordable communities.
  • Agency regulations published quietly in the Delaware Register, carrying the force of law without a single floor vote.

The best time to learn about a bill that affects your home is before the vote, not in the newspaper afterward.

Before the Vote · Delaware Association of REALTORS®

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One email address. Plain-English alerts when a state bill or regulation could affect your home, your rights, or your community. That's it.