Providing for the concurrence by the House in the Senate amendment to H.R. 6644, with amendment.
This bill aims to expand the nation's housing supply and help more families buy or repair homes. It prohibits large corporate investors—those managing 350 or more properties—from purchasing single-family houses, keeping more of these homes available for individual buyers. Additionally, the bill simplifies federal environmental reviews for home building on already-developed land, sets up a grant program to help low-income homeowners perform home repairs, and establishes a pilot program to support small-dollar mortgages.
The provisions, in plain language.
Authorizes the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to establish a 4-year pilot program to increase access to small-dollar home mortgages of $100,000 or less, including direct payments to lenders and closing-cost grants for homebuyers.
Establishes a pilot program through October 1, 2031, providing grants to local governments and tribes to administer home repair programs that funding access for low-income homeowners and landlords.
Authorizes $200 million annually from fiscal years 2027 through 2031 for a new competitive grant program that rewards local communities displaying objective progress in growing their local housing supply.
Prohibits large institutional investors who control 350 or more single-family homes from purchasing any additional single-family homes, subject to civil penalties of up to $1 million per violation or three times the purchase price.
Requires geographic diversity in HUD housing counseling grants to ensure funding reaches both rural and urban areas.
Directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to issue model code language, best practices, and fire safety guidelines to help state and local governments permit multiunit residential buildings with a single internal stairway.
Authorizes HUD to establish a 7-year pilot program to award competitive grants to local governments, developers, and tribes to test the safety and cost-effectiveness of single-stairway residential buildings.
Exempts certain infill construction projects funded by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) rural housing programs from federal environmental impact reviews.
Requires local jurisdictions receiving Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) to certify they are taking actions to overcome regulatory barriers to affordable housing, starting October 1, 2026.
Directs HUD to establish a 3-year pilot program providing grants to public housing agencies and federally assisted property owners to install and test internet-connected temperature sensors in rental units.
Directs HUD to publish guidelines, model codes, and best practices to help states and localities reform zoning frameworks to reduce barriers to housing development.
Abolishes the Regulatory Barriers Clearinghouse.
Permits HUD to give extra weight to competitive grant applicants whose projects directly benefit federally designated Qualified Opportunity Zones.
Raises the limit on public welfare investments that national banks and state member banks can make in their communities from 15 percent to 20 percent of their capital and surplus.
Expands CDBG eligible activities to include the new construction of housing, and permits the acquisition of property for new construction under certain community development guidelines.
Directs HUD to expand and streamline environmental review exemptions and categorical exclusions for specific housing development, rehabilitation, and conversion activities.
Directs HUD to establish a 5-year program to award competitive planning and implementation grants to local governments and regional agencies to execute housing affordability and accessibility strategies.
Authorizes HUD to award grants to local governments and tribes to purchase or select pre-reviewed, streamlined architectural designs for duplexes, townhomes, accessory dwelling units, and other small multi-unit housing styles.
Substantially increases the statutory dollar-amount limits for HUD multifamily mortgage insurance programs to reflect updated construction costs.
Amends the definition of manufactured homes to include structures built with or without a permanent chassis, making them eligible under federal construction and safety standards.
Directs HUD to review FHA construction financing barriers for factory-built modular homes and initiate a rulemaking to examine alternative construction loan draw schedules.
Expands eligibility and increases the FHA loan limits for manufactured home and property improvement loans, including raising the limit on single-family home loans to $150,000.
Requires HUD to establish qualifications for appraisers conducting valuations on FHA-insured mortgages and mandates that federal financial regulators maintain appraisal reconsideration-of-value procedures for consumers.
Modifies the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to increase the maximum purchase price limit for HOME-assisted homebuyers from 95 percent to 110 percent of the area median sales price.
Permits the USDA to increase staffing and upgrade database technology to improve processing times, and raises the loan limit for USDA very low-income home repair loans from $7,500 to $15,000.
Requires the USDA to establish a process for adjusting rural rental housing voucher amounts when a tenant experiences changes in household income or rent rates.
Excludes child care businesses operated out of a consumer's home from USDA rural home loan program restrictions, provided the business is licensed or registered under state or tribal law.
Excludes VA disability benefits from tenant income calculations when determining eligibility for veterans renting apartments constructed on Department of Veterans Affairs property.
Requires public housing agencies under federal receivership or monitoring to submit annual progress reports to Congress, and mandates that they post all active vendor contracts on their public websites.
Raises the asset threshold under which small, well-capitalized depository institutions are eligible for an extended 18-month safety and soundness exam cycle from $3 billion to $6 billion.
Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to permit credit union boards of directors to meet at least six times per year instead of monthly.
Permits federal bank regulators to waive bank concentration limit rules in the event of an emergency resolution of a failing bank, subject to submitting a joint report to Congress within 30 days.
Establishes a streamlined application process, caseworker assignment systems, and a mentoring network through federal financial regulators to assist de novo banks and credit unions with chartering, capital raising, and insurance applications.
Allows newly insured banks and their holding companies to phase in federal capital requirements over a 2-year period.
Establishes a toll-free federal hotline and website for tenants renting from institutional investors to report disputes and potential violations of federal or state law.
Who it helps · who it burdens.
Who it helps
- low-income homebuyersReceive competitive grants, closing-cost grants, and direct payments to lenders to increase access to mortgages of $100,000 or less under a new 4-year FHA pilot program [6].
- low-income homeownersGain access to a new pilot program providing grants for home repairs to low-income homeowners and landlords [11].
- landlordsGain access to home repair grants under a new pilot program through October 1, 2031 [11].
- very low-income rural homeownersBenefit from an increased loan limit for very low-income home repair loans, which rises from $7,500 to $15,000 [24].
- rural rental housing voucher holdersBenefit from a process allowing voucher amounts to be adjusted when they experience a reduction in income or rent increases [25].
- disabled veteransBenefit from the exclusion of VA disability benefits from tenant income calculations when determining eligibility for renting apartments on VA property [27].
- home-based child care providersBenefit from the exclusion of licensed or registered home-based child care businesses from USDA rural home loan program restrictions [26].
- de novo banks and credit unionsBenefit from a streamlined application process, caseworker assignment systems, and a mentoring network to assist with chartering, capital raising, and insurance applications [32].
- newly insured banksAre permitted to phase in federal capital requirements over a 2-year period [33].
- national and state member banksBenefit from an increased limit on public welfare investments they can make in their communities, rising from 15 percent to 20 percent of their capital and surplus [12].
- small depository institutionsAre eligible for an extended 18-month safety and soundness exam cycle as the asset threshold is raised from $3 billion to $6 billion [29].
- credit union boards of directorsAre permitted to meet at least six times per year instead of monthly [30].
Who it burdens
- large institutional investorsAre prohibited from purchasing any additional single-family homes, subject to civil penalties of up to $1 million per violation or three times the purchase price [34].
- local jurisdictions receiving CDBG fundsMust certify they are taking actions to overcome regulatory barriers to affordable housing starting October 1, 2026, to receive Community Development Block Grants [5].
- public housing agencies under federal receivershipMust submit annual progress reports to Congress and post all active vendor contracts on their public websites [28].
Who backs it
- violators of the institutional investor home purchase banFinances the HOME Investment Partnerships program through collected civil penalties assessed on large institutional investors who violate the single-family home purchase prohibition [34].