The House Committee on Financial Services has advanced the Housing for the 21st Century Act, a bipartisan measure drafted to streamline housing development and affordability by updating outdated programs, removing regulatory roadblocks, and increasing local flexibility.
The Act, introduced by Reps. French Hill (R-AR), Maxine Waters (D-CA), Mike Flood (R-NE), and Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) is positioned as a response to the widening gap between housing demand and supply, driven in large part by cost inflation, regulatory delays, and restrictive zoning practices that hinder development.
Key objectives outlined in the summary include expanding the national housing supply by simplifying federal and local development procedures and reducing barriers that have slowed housing delivery.
“Housing affordability remains one of the most pressing challenges facing aspiring homeowners, renters, and communities. Today’s overwhelmingly bipartisan vote in the House Financial Services Committee is a significant milestone," said Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) President and CEO Bob Broeksmit, CMB. “MBA applauds Chairman French Hill (R-AR), Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA), Housing and Insurance Subcommittee leaders Mike Flood (R-NE) and Emanual Cleaver (D-MO), and the bipartisan coalition of Committee members for advancing this housing package that reflects a shared commitment to increasing supply, improving affordability, and modernizing federal housing programs."
The legislation also proposes improvements to federal housing programs, with updated standards and stronger support for innovative housing solutions such as manufactured and factory-built homes.
“This housing affordability challenge affects everyone, from young people saving up to buy their first home, to middle class workers trying just to make the rent,” said Rep. Flood. “In other words, housing costs have been too high across our country for the last several years, and the culprit is a lack of affordable housing supply. This bill, I think, is a historic and bipartisan product that will get to the root of the housing affordability challenges our country has experienced for the last several years.”
In order to improve access to affordable housing, the Housing for the 21st Century Act would enhance the usability of federal housing and community development programs, broaden financing pathways (particularly for manufactured homes and small-dollar mortgages), and strengthen coordination and oversight across federal housing agencies. These changes aim to empower both urban and rural communities to more effectively confront affordability pressures.
“Today, it costs roughly $100,000 before the shovel hits the dirt, and home builders cannot economically build a new home for, in many cases, less than $250,000,” said House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chairman Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA). “By eliminating duplicative reviews and fixing outdated programs, this legislation directly lowers those costs. This bill modernizes outdated housing laws by improving coordination between HUD and USDA programs and updating FHA multifamily loan limits so they reflect today’s construction costs. It also improves the usability of core community development programs like HOME and CDBG, enabling local governments to deploy resources to produce housing instead of getting caught up in the blue tape."
