Summary#
This bill, titled the Revitalizing America's Housing Act, would change many federal housing programs and tax rules. It directs HUD to report regulatory barriers to affordable housing and encourages zoning reforms. It adds ordinary income to special rules for opportunity zone investments. It delays stricter transformer efficiency rules. It raises the home-sale capital gain exclusion amounts. The bill creates a new Neighborhood Homes tax credit to encourage private investment to build or rehab owner-occupied homes in certain low-income census tracts and allows related state energy subsidies to be excluded from income. It expands several programs and benefits for public servants, volunteer first responders, and veterans, and it makes members of the Armed Forces, firefighters, and law enforcement eligible for HUD’s Good Neighbor Next Door program. The bill allows states and local governments to petition to reuse unused federal property for affordable housing and restricts the Department of Energy from setting energy standards for manufactured housing. It requires studies and reports by GAO and other agencies on topics such as housing near Superfund sites, public housing inspections, mold health effects, lead hazards, and housing for elderly or disabled people. It adds annual oversight and testimony requirements for HUD, certain mortgage program officials, and the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. It creates incentives and flexibility for homelessness programs, reforms and expands the Moving to Work program, rescinds a HUD notice, and requires greater housing counseling and mandatory prepurchase or foreclosure counseling for certain federally related mortgage loans. The bill also includes provisions on small-dollar mortgages, limits on points and fees, anti-squatting measures tied to Community Development Block Grant eligibility, and reallocation of unused voucher funding.
What it means for you#
- Renters in federally assisted housing: the bill calls for more studies, annual inspections review, mapping of mold issues, and lead hazard assessments; HUD would be asked to increase reporting and actions on health and safety problems.
- Homebuyers and homeowners: the bill raises the home-sale gain exclusion and creates a Neighborhood Homes tax credit for building or rehabilitating owner-occupied homes in eligible areas. It also changes eligibility and counseling rules for certain federally backed mortgages.
- Public servants, volunteers, and veterans: some public servants and volunteer first responders could get expanded access to housing programs and loan benefits; veterans’ service-connected disability compensation would be excluded from certain income calculations.
- State and local governments: jurisdictions would prepare land use plan submissions to access CDBG funds, may petition to use unused federal property for housing, and could receive Neighborhood Homes credit allocations through state agencies.
- Developers and lenders: a new federal tax credit and changes to small-dollar mortgage rules could affect financing for small homes and rehabilitations; the bill also directs regulators to change rules on loan originators, points, and fees for small loans.
Expenses#
No publicly available information on total costs or estimated budget impacts is provided in the bill text. The bill includes many provisions that could affect federal spending or revenues, including:
- A new Neighborhood Homes tax credit and increased capital gains exclusions (tax revenue effects not specified in the text).
- Authorizations for studies, reports, and an interagency mold education campaign (some language authorizes “such sums as may be necessary” for the campaign).
- Changes to program rules that could change future program outlays (for example, Moving to Work program expansion, vouchers reallocation, and renovations supported by tax credits).
The bill text does not include a consolidated estimate of costs or offsets.
Proponents' View#
The bill text includes findings and stated purposes in several sections. Those statements say the bill aims to:
- Improve safety, affordability, and access to housing.
- Identify and remove regulatory barriers that make housing less affordable (Sec. 101).
- Discourage discriminatory land use policies and encourage zoning reforms to increase housing supply, as a goal tied to Community Development Block Grant recipients (Sec. 104).
- Address middle-income housing affordability and define "workforce housing" to expand program reach (Sec. 201).
- Support public servants, volunteer first responders, and veterans by expanding access to certain HUD programs and by excluding service-connected disability compensation from income calculations for some programs (Secs. 202–206).
- Attract private investment to build or rehabilitate owner-occupied homes through a new Neighborhood Homes credit (Sec. 207).
- Improve health and safety by studying and mapping mold and lead hazards, increasing inspections reporting, and incentivizing local homelessness reductions (Title III).
- Increase oversight and transparency of HUD and related mortgage programs through annual testimony and reporting requirements (Title IV).
These purposes and findings are stated in the bill text as the sponsor’s rationale for the changes.
Opponents' View#
No publicly available information in the bill text about opposition views or arguments against the bill.