Dive Brief:
- The House on Dec. 11 introduced the Housing for the 21st Century Act, a bipartisan bill that aims to increase the country’s housing supply by reducing the cost and complexity of development to stimulate production.
- The legislation is the House’s counterpart to the Senate’s ROAD to Housing Act — the first bipartisan markup for housing in over a decade — that was included in the recent defense bill but removed by the House in the final version passed late Dec. 10.
- Twelve major housing groups endorsed the act in a Dec. 16 letter, saying that it “includes many provisions favorable to our industry. Specifically, the bill includes provisions streamlining federal inspection standards, encouraging streamlining of local and state permitting processes and increases FHA multifamily loan limits.”
Dive Insight:
The bill is cosponsored by a bipartisan group composed of Reps. French Hill (R-Ark.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Mike Flood (R-Neb.) and Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), and has been referred to the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Housing production has not kept pace with demand, and inflation, regulatory delays and outdated zoning constraints have contributed to the shortage and increased cost, per a Dec. 11 release from the FSC. Committee Chair Hill said the group is working to find new ways to foster a more accessible homebuilding and buying environment.
“We look forward to moving this bill through regular order and working with our Senate counterparts in the new year to get a bill signed into law that reflects ideas from both chambers and delivers real results for American families,” Hill said in the release.
Broadly, the new legislation includes 27 provisions that aim to update outdated programs, streamline federal requirements and increase local flexibility. Key provisions for the multifamily industry include:
- Housing Supply Frameworks Act: Directs HUD to publish guidelines and best practices for state and local zoning frameworks.
- HOME Reform Act of 2025: Reauthorizes and updates the HOME Investment Partnerships Program.
- Identifying Barriers to Housing Supply Act: Requires Community Development Block Grant recipients to publicly report on their progress in removing onerous land use policies.
- Choice in Affordable Housing Act of 2025: Streamlines the inspections provision and gets voucher holders into housing faster.
Some provisions from the ROAD to Housing Act have been pulled into the new House bill, which reflects broad bipartisan support in both Chambers to advance housing legislation, said Waters in the FSC release.
“I look forward to moving this bill through the Committee process and to the House floor as quickly as possible,” Waters said. “Millions of renters, homeowners, elderly, veterans and people experiencing homelessness are counting on us to act with urgency.”
The Financial Services Committee will include a vote on the bill during their markup that started Tuesday and continues Wednesday. It will also vote on the Respect State Housing Laws Act, which would end the CARES Act requirement that landlords of federally supported properties give tenants 30 days of notice before starting eviction for nonpayment of rent.
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