Washington, D.C.— Today, Representative Jim Himes (CT-04) celebrated the passage of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a package of housing-related bills meant to bring down housing costs, spur new construction, increase access to capital, and cut red tape. The legislation includes Rep. Himes’ Property Improvement and Manufactured Housing Loan Modernization Act, a bill which empowers the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to expand statutory loan limits for manufactured homes and accessory dwelling units (ADUs) by an average of 107% across all loan types.
“The sky-high cost of housing and the dearth of available homes comes up in almost every conversation I have with my constituents,” said Congressman Himes. “The bill passed by the House of Representatives today represents a generational opportunity, and long overdue effort, to correct the drivers of America’s housing crisis, which have forced millions of Americans to delay purchasing their first home, put off their retirements, and priced them out of their communities. I’m glad to have been a part of crafting this critical bill and hope the Senate passes it without delay.”
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act passed the House of Representatives in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 396 – 13. The bill would:
- Remove unnecessary regulatory barriers which hinder housing construction by allowing for the use of ready-to-use, pre-approved home designs so builders can get permits faster and build homes more quickly.
- Modernize the HOME Program, the largest federal block grant program for states to increase the supply of affordable housing.
- Exempt small-scale housing developments from burdensome federal environmental reviews and give jurisdictions more flexibility and time to commit funds, and fewer rigid federal constraints.
- Strengthen local housing operations and community capacity to produce more affordable homes in rural and urban areas.
Rep. Himes’ Property Improvement and Manufactured Housing Loan Modernization Act, included in the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act,seeks to boost America’s housing supply by:
- Expanding FHA’s Title I loan program by increasing limits and extending terms on loans for manufactured homes—one of the largest forms of affordable housing currently ineligible for federal funding;
- Allowing FHA to index property improvement loans to inflation and expand the data it uses when setting loan limits for manufactured homes, securing Title I as an essential tool for the future as home costs continue to rise;
- Extending Title I financing to ADUs, a versatile means of expanding America’s housing supply.
More information on the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act can be found here. A section-by-section overview of the legislation can be found here.
More information on the Property Improvement and Manufactured Housing Loan Modernization Act can be found here.