The House passed the 21st Century Housing Act on Monday, which aims to improve affordability through a series of zoning, funding and regulatory reviews.
The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the 21st Century Housing Act on Monday.
The legislation is a 138-page bill aimed at improving housing affordability by streamlining zoning and permitting laws, encouraging upzoning to increase housing density, expanding access to development block grants, increasing the use of manufactured housing, and improving financing options for homebuyers.
The bill has broad bipartisan support and is co-sponsored by Rep. French Hill (R-Arkansas) and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.).
“When there is not enough housing, prices rise,” Hill wrote in a Feb. 6 editorial in The Hill. “The 21st Century Housing Act contains real bipartisan solutions to boost development by cutting through red tape and putting the work in the hands of communities and local banks. That’s how we expand supply, lower costs, and give families more choice.”
The bill now needs to pass the Senate and consists of five main parts:
Building Smarter for the 21st Century: This section, known as Title I, focuses on streamlining zoning and permitting laws. If passed, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) would be responsible for creating a “local zoning framework” that states and local governments can use to significantly increase their housing stock, including reducing parking minimums and allowing multifamily housing (e.g., two-, three-, and four-family homes) to be built on land previously zoned for single-family homes. The section also creates new exclusions and exemptions for office-to-residential conversions and quadruples the Federal Housing Administration’s multifamily loan limits. Modernizing Local Development and Rural Housing Programs: The second section focuses on modernizing the HOME Investment Partnership Program and Community Development Block Grant Program and expanding access to building grants. Expanding Manufactured and Affordable Housing Finance: This section focuses on expanding access to manufactured housing through a series of financial and regulatory reviews. But the main proposal focuses on establishing a Federal Housing Administration pilot program for small-dollar mortgages to give homebuyers access to financing for homes under $100,000. Protections for Borrowers and Families Recipients: Section 4 expands protections and housing access for buyers and renters by expanding housing counseling programs, launching a national eviction helpline, excluding certain disability benefits from HUD housing assistance income calculations, and establishing data sharing between HUD, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Increased Oversight of Housing Providers: The final section requires HUD Secretary (currently Scott Turner) to testify before Congress annually. In addition, housing agencies with executive or judicial trustees or federal monitors must annually submit a notification to HUD, and those trustees or monitors must submit detailed reports, including any outstanding issues, to the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee.
The House Financial Services Committee said more than 70 groups support the bill, including the National Association of Realtors, the National Association of Home Builders and dozens of groups in the housing, banking and manufacturing industries.
A NAR spokesperson said the industry group “strongly supports” the law, adding that it provides “the kind of comprehensive approach” needed to solve the decades-old housing affordability crisis.
“NAR strongly supports bipartisan efforts in both chambers to address this crisis, and we believe Congress must act decisively to remove barriers to housing production, reform outdated programs, and provide communities with the tools they need to build more housing,” the NAR statement said. “By addressing barriers at the federal, state, and local levels, HR 6644 represents the comprehensive approach needed to expand housing opportunity and restore affordability.”
“This legislation provides technical assistance and incentives to communities to reduce local barriers to housing development, streamlines federal environmental reviews that slow production, and modernizes important programs such as: [HOME Investment Partnerships Program] and [Community Development Block Grant Programs] “It also removes outdated manufactured housing requirements and strengthens families’ access to credit and paths to building wealth through homeownership.”
Few have criticized the law, with only nine representatives: Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Josh Brechen (R-Okla.), Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Thomas Massey (R-Ky.), Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.). Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas) — Vote no on Monday.
While the first steps went smoothly, there could be some hurdles ahead as the Senate proposes its own housing affordability bill, the ROAD to Housing Act.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told Politico that she has some problems with the House bill, particularly the part that eases regulations for community banks. Warren also wants the House to “take away” ROAD, but House Republicans seem reluctant to do so.
“ROAD to Housing is a Jenga tower. Adding things or subtracting things risks losing the unanimous coalition we have built in the Senate,” Warren told the magazine. “House Republicans should not hold housing relief hostage and advance several bank deregulation bills that would make community banks even more vulnerable.”
Read the full bill below.
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