The ROAD to Housing: Easing the Housing Supply
The biggest housing bill in decades was passed into law in July. The 21st Century Road to Housing Act is a bipartisan, omnibus legislation that tackles everything from housing supply, affordable housing, housing finance, and program governance in one sweeping package. Among its many provisions: encouraging new construction, cutting burdensome regulations, and easing rules for manufactured housing, much of the ROAD to Housing Act aligns with the national movement to fix the supply crisis by building more homes faster.
In response to this landmark legislation, we asked practitioners across the housing field to share their views on the ROAD Act— where it offers the greatest opportunities, where it missed opportunities, and what needs to happen next for the law to have an impact. Across three editions of The Rooftop in the month of September, we present housing leaders’ views on specific provisions of the law to paint a fuller picture of the opportunity, the challenges, and the road ahead.
This week, we focus on how the ROAD Act positions itself to ease the housing supply crisis. Read last week’s edition on rental affordability and housing stability, and stay tuned for next week’s edition, where experts will discuss how the ROAD Act seeks to address the housing supply crisis through good governance.
Section 301, Housing Supply Expansion Act
Steve Swedberg, Competitive Enterprise Institute, on increasing manufactured housing
For too many families, the dream of homeownership feels increasingly out of reach. Every unnecessary cost built into a home’s price makes that dream a little harder to achieve. That’s why one of the most meaningful provisions in the ROAD to Housing Act isn’t a new subsidy or program. It’s the repeal of the federal chassis mandate.
A chassis is the steel frame used to transport a manufactured home from the factory to its installation site. Federal law requires every manufactured home to permanently include a chassis. The problem is that because most manufactured homes are installed on permanent foundations, requiring every unit to include a permanent chassis does not reflect how these structures are built and used. The mandate imposes extra cost for no good reason. Manufacturers should have the flexibility to determine whether a chassis is necessary for a particular home. Eliminating this requirement will encourage innovation and provide lower-cost alternatives to traditional site-built construction, expanding affordable housing options for prospective homeowners.
Unfortunately, Congress is limited in what it can do about the biggest barriers to housing affordability because they primarily stem from state and local zoning, permitting, and land-use policies. Congress took an important step by eliminating an unnecessary federal chassis mandate. Now, policymakers at every level should ask the same question of every housing regulation: Does it solve a real problem, or does it simply make housing more expensive?
Section 501, HOME Investment Partnerships Reauthorization and Reform Act
Doug Ryan, Grounded Solutions Network, on shared equity housing
In its reauthorization of HOME—the largest federal block grant devoted solely to affordable housing—Section 501 recognizes that community land trusts, limited equity housing cooperatives, and other shared equity housing models play a robust role in addressing the housing crisis. Section 501 also codifies a more inclusive definition of community land trusts. These offer big opportunities.
Shared equity housing remains a small component of the housing market. Yet, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act identifies it as part of the way forward. Grounded Solutions Network has long-championed community land trusts and other shared equity models, and is excited to see changes in the ROAD Act that take it to the next level.
What’s next? States, localities, lenders, and investors will use this new federal recognition to scale partnerships with practitioners to build, acquire, and renovate starter homes across the United States. Shared equity housing implementers can also leverage other authorities in ROAD. Implementers can use Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to build new shared equity homes, plan a local renovation program, and take advantage of FHA’s new insurance authority for accessory dwelling unit lending.
Saying that ROAD is the most significant housing legislation in 30 years is not an overstatement. But it is also an indictment of our failures to meet the housing needs of communities and families over the last few generations. To fully meet the spirit of ROAD, we will need to fund, innovate, and incentivize housing. For decades, we have failed to do so. This is what gives me hope. And what gives me pause.
Across the ROAD Act
Rep. Emilia Sykes, New Democrat Coalition, on solving the housing shortage
As Chair of the New Democrat Coalition Housing Task Force, I am most excited that the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act recognizes a simple reality: solving America’s housing shortage requires a comprehensive, all-encompassing approach. The bill brings together reforms that expand housing supply, modernize federal housing programs, strengthen local capacity, and encourage innovation rather than relying on any single policy solution. This comprehensive approach reflects what communities across the country have been telling us: they need more tools, more flexibility, and stronger partnerships to meet today’s housing challenges.
Read the full article at New America.