By a vote of 390-9, the U.S. House of Representative has passed the “Housing for the 21st Century Act, a bill aimed at easing the housing affordability crisis across the U.S.
The bill heads to the Senate, where it may face strong debate since the Senate passed its own housing affordability bill late last year.
The bill has more than 20 provisions that would allow communities and banks to boost development of affordable homes.
The latest tED magazine/Baird survey showed 52% of electrical distributors are concerned about the residential market right now.
The summary of the bill, currently on the House website, says:
This bill revises federal housing programs, including by expanding available financing for affordable housing and providing grants for planning and community development activities.
For example, the bill increases the statutory maximum loan limits for mortgage insurance programs administered by the Federal Housing Administration for multifamily homes and requires the use of a more specific inflation index for such loans.
The bill also increases the maximum eligible income for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) HOME Investment Partnerships Program (grants to states and localities to support housing for low-income households) and establishes a grant program to assist regional, state, and local entities with strategies to support affordable housing.
In addition, the bill
- exempts certain housing-related activities from the environmental review process, including certain construction, improvement, or rehabilitation of residential buildings;
- excludes veterans’ disability benefits from being considered as income for purposes of determining eligibility for the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) program;
- establishes a pilot program to provide grants to public housing agencies (PHAs) and other owners of federally assisted housing to test the efficacy of temperature sensors to support compliance with temperature requirements;
- eliminates the requirement that manufactured homes must be constructed with a permanent chassis; and
- authorizes HUD to conduct performance reviews of organizations that provide housing counseling services.
The bill also expands oversight of HUD and PHAs, such as by requiring PHAs to post information about contracts on their websites.
More than 50 groups have endorsed the Housing for the 21st Century Act, including the National Association of Home Builders and the Associated Builders and Contractors.
National Association of Home Builders said, “This housing package takes much-needed steps toward addressing our nation’s critical lack of housing supply. NAHB is encouraged that, among other helpful changes, the legislation has key provisions related to land-use and zoning, regulatory reforms, and financing tools. For too long, restrictive zoning and land-use policies have constrained residential construction. This bill directs HUD to develop best practices with key stakeholders, such as home builders and developers, to provide state and local governments with an array of options to increase production. Similarly, there is a provision to reward communities that welcome the use of pattern books to speed the permitting and approval process for a variety of home types.”
Associated Builders and Contractors said, “ABC appreciates the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee in addressing America’s housing affordability crisis by tackling the regulatory and permitting barriers that delay projects, increase costs and prevent contractors from meeting housing demand. We appreciate the bipartisan support that brought this bill to the House floor under suspension of the rules and encourage you to vote “Yes” when it comes for a vote. ABC strongly supports the bill’s provisions to streamline federal environmental review for housing development. ABC members regularly experience significant delays when projects are forced into lengthy review processes, often with duplicative documentation requirements and increased litigation risk.”