Banking Committee Advances Comprehensive Housing Bill; HOME Reauthorization Included

The Senate Banking Committee this morning unanimously passed a wide-ranging affordable housing package containing dozens of proposals introduced by Senators from both parties. The bill — titled “Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream to Housing Act of 2025,” or “ROAD to Housing Act” — is the first bipartisan housing bill to advance through the Banking Committee in more than a decade, and the most substantial as well. It is the product of months of discussions between Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-SC) and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

The legislation includes several bills supported by NCSHA, most notably the HOME Investment Partnerships Program Reauthorization and Improvement Act. NCSHA thanks Senators Scott and Warren and all the members of the committee for their bipartisan leadership in advancing ways to increase the supply of affordable housing. NCSHA released a statement in support of the bill this morning.

The ROAD to Housing Act will now be reported to the full Senate. It is not yet known when and if it will be brought to the floor for consideration.

A section-by-section summary of the ROAD to Housing Act is available here. Below is a summary of some of the bill’s more significant provisions. NCSHA will publish a more detailed summary soon.

HOME Reauthorization

The HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) was last reauthorized more than two decades ago, in 1994. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto’s (D-NV) legislation, which is included in the bipartisan package, would reauthorize HOME and make a number of needed improvements, including eliminating the 24-month commitment deadline for HOME funds; streamlining the property inspection regime for HOME-assisted properties; establishing protections for active-duty service members to be able to sell their homes in the event of deployment, or beneficiaries in the event of a deceased relative; and amending the Community Housing Development Organization requirements to enable additional nonprofit organizations to qualify as eligible partners for state and local participating jurisdictions.

The Community Investment and Prosperity Act

Introduced by Chair Scott and Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), the legislation would increase the cap on banks’ “public welfare investments,” a category that includes Housing Credits and Housing Bonds, from 15 percent of a bank’s capital and surplus to 20 percent. This would increase liquidity in the Housing Credit market and would be particularly useful in the coming years as states allocate increased Housing Credit authority. It applies to banks regulated by the Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Whole-Home Loan Repairs Act

This legislation would authorize the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to establish a five-year pilot program to provide grants to nonprofits, state and local governments, and American Indian tribes to offer grants and forgivable loans to low- and moderate-income homeowners and qualifying small landlords to address home repair needs and health hazards for single-family homes occupied by low-income households (earning 80 percent of area median income or below). State and local governments would only be eligible to apply for funding in areas where a qualified nonprofit is not participating in the program. Based on an initiative launched in Pennsylvania, it was introduced by Senators John Fetterman (D-PA) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY).

Rural Housing Service Reform Act

The bill includes the Rural Housing Service Reform Act, legislation introduced by Senators Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Tina Smith (D-MN), that would, among other reforms, codify a pilot program that allows decoupling of rental assistance from maturing Section 515 mortgages to help preserve affordable housing in rural areas.

The PRICE Act

The legislation would permanently reauthorize the Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement (PRICE) program. This program, which was temporarily approved through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), provides funding to preserve, maintain, and stabilize manufactured housing communities. Several HFAs have participated in the program. This bill was introduced by Cortez Masto, who also led the charge to get the program included in the ARPA.

Other Single-Family Legislation

The ROAD to Housing Act includes several bills designed to boost affordable homeownership and the development of affordable for-sale homes. These bills would:

• Direct the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to examine its policies pertaining to loan officer compensation and maximum allowable fees for mortgages and advance changes that would allow for more small-dollar mortgage lending. The Federal Housing Finance Agency also would be expected to look at its policies regarding fees.
• Require the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to modify its rules on new single-family construction loans to allow for different funding draw schedules for loans funding modular home construction.
• Update the federal definition of manufactured housing to include modular and prefabricated units not built on a permanent chassis. This will make more manufactured homes available under federal insurance programs.
• Revise FHA loan standards for manufactured housing, including increasing loan limits.

Other Provisions

The bill includes many more provisions, including sections that would:

• Eliminate the cap on the number of properties eligible for the Rental Assistance Demonstration program.
• Enable HUD to give added weight to applicants for competitive HUD grants that are located in, or primarily serve, designated Opportunity Zones to support housing preservation and construction.
• Direct HUD to develop best practices for zoning and land-use policies, helping communities identify and overcome barriers to housing development.
• Create a competitive pot of highly flexible funding for communities increasing their housing supply, which can be used to improve community infrastructure, build housing, and supplement water and sewer grants.
• Permanently authorize the Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery program and establish the Office of Disaster Management and Resiliency within HUD to administer it.