Housing Bill Architects Urge Cities to Implement Reforms

The architects of the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, described as the largest housing bill in 30 years, have stated that the success of the bipartisan legislation now rests with cities across the United States. This sentiment was shared during the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's housing conference in Washington, D.C., on Monday. The bill contains 125 implementation items, many of which require the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to formulate new regulations and develop programs. While a few provisions have immediate effects, the majority of the implementation process falls to HUD and local governments. Representative Mike Flood (R-NE), chair of the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee, highlighted the current stage of writing regulations and stressed the importance of community engagement with HUD. He noted that "a lot of the communities are excited about it, but now we're in that stage where we need to write the regulations." The legislation aims to make it easier to build and buy homes, with the 33,295 government bodies possessing local zoning authority tasked with processing its numerous provisions. Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), ranking member of the subcommittee, described the bill as "a good start at getting people to use their imagination," acknowledging that it does not include direct funding, an issue likely to be addressed in the government's 2028 fiscal budget. House Financial Services Committee Chair Representative French Hill (R-AR), the bill's sponsor, pointed to specific benefits, such as the removal of the chassis mandate for manufactured housing. Combined with HUD regulations facilitating the construction of manufactured housing, this change is expected to offer "tremendous cost savings" for increasing housing supply, particularly in rural areas of Arkansas. Hill emphasized the bill's focus on addressing "supply-side barriers to greater construction," aligning with basic economic principles of supply and demand. The legislation seeks to tackle the housing affordability crisis by reducing obstacles to construction and homeownership, although it does not directly address demand-side issues. The implementation phase is critical, as local zoning authorities will interpret and apply the bill's directives, influencing the pace and scale of new housing development and affordability improvements nationwide. The success of these reforms will depend on the collaborative efforts between federal agencies, local governments, and the housing industry to translate legislative intent into tangible housing solutions.