In-depth look at the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act
August 15, 2026
Notable Sections and Breakdown:There are many sections of this act that address issues ranging from banking reform, to veteran support, to public housing livability.
Notable Sections and Breakdown:
There are many sections of this act that address issues ranging from banking reform, to veteran support, to public housing livability. This breakdown will focus on sections that pertain to expanding or preserving housing opportunities and creating new grant programs. The sections that will be covered in this breakdown will include: 107, 201, 202, 204, 206, 207, 208, 212, 301, and 501. Tucson for Everyone may have future articles like this one where we could break down more sections and discuss the potential impacts further. Our general overview can be found here on our website. Our sources section will also contain links for further information. More general overviews from the Senate Banking Committee and the Bipartisan Policy Center can be found here:
ADUs - Accessory Dwelling Units a.k.a. Casitas. A type of housing unit that is accessory to a primary house and sits on the same lot.
AMI - Area Median Income, the midpoint of income distribution for an area. Half of all households earn more than this amount in a year; half earn less.
BABA - Build America, Buy America, a federal law mandating that all iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials for certain projects are sourced from within the US.
CDBG - Community Development Block Grant, a type of formula grant awarded to states, counties, and cities to improve a city's facilities and built environment.
FAR - Floor Area Ratio, a type of zoning regulation which determines how much total floor area a building can have relative to the size of the lot it is built on.
HUD - US Department of Housing and Urban Development, an executive department for the US federal government responsible for overseeing and administering policies and funding related to housing and cities.
How we work
Reform the rules
Back zoning reform and streamlined permitting so more homes are legal to build, especially near transit and jobs.
Educate & engage
Turn out residents to the meetings that matter and make it easy to take a pro-housing position on local projects.
Build partnerships
Work with neighbors, labor, faith groups, and builders toward a shared abundant-housing agenda.
Tucson for Everyone is a chapter of YIMBY Action.
One of the local groups organizing for more homes across the country, backed by the national team.
LIHTC - Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, a tax-credit for developers or investors of a low-income housing development.
NEPA - National Environmental Policy Act, a federal law that sets environmental review standards and procedures for all major federally supported activities.
This section directs HUD to publish guidelines on how state and local zoning frameworks can support new housing production. These guidelines will be published within three years, with drafts being available for public comment sometime during the two years after the bill became law. The new guidelines will be created with the advice of urban planners, architects, home builders and developers, community advocates, public agencies and commissions, state officials, and academic researchers.
New guidance will be provided on issues that include but are not limited to:
Reductions or elimination of parking requirements
Floor area ratio (FAR) increases
Legalization of casitas/ADUs
Increasing by-right development of middle housing
Mechanisms for rezoning that are transit-focused and more equitable for economically distressed areas
Reforms on housing permitting and approval process
Reducing barriers to modular housing
Impact fee reform
Transit-Oriented-Development (TOD)
Community Benefits Agreements
Mechanisms to avoid disruption and displacement of low-income communities
State-level zoning appeals processes
Section 201. Increasing Housing In Opportunity Zones
This section directs HUD to give more weight to applications for projects or activities that are either in or benefit a community in a designated Opportunity Zone. This applies to all competitive grants related to housing.
Section 202. Whole-Home Repairs Act
This section creates a pilot-program under HUD to fund competitive grants to institutions such as states, territories, tribes, and local governments to administer whole-home repairs programs. There will be between two and ten recipients of these grants from HUD and only one per state, this program will select awardees each year and will run until 2031. Institutions that receive this grant cannot spend more than 5% of it on related functions like training staff and cannot use more than 10% of it on administrative costs. Receiving this grant cannot be used to deduct other federal funding from an entity.
Institutions can use this program to provide grants to homeowners and forgivable loans to landlords so long as the repairs are not already covered by another federal program. HUD must sign off on the amount of each grant or loan given out this way. Institutions should try to disperse support to as many homeowners and landlords as possible, and any grants or loans not fully spent must be returned.
Whole-home repairs can encompass:
Accessibility installations and disability accommodations
Repairs needed to keep units safe and habitable
Weatherization
Improvements of water and energy efficiency and resilience
Eligible homeowners include:
People who do not make more than 80% AMI
People who are eligible for Medicaid, CHIP, TANF, SNAP, or supplemental income
Eligible landlords include:
People who own fewer than ten rental properties with a majority of affordable units and no more than 25 total units.
Section 204. Addition Of Affordable Housing Construction As An Eligible Activity
This section allows Community Development Block Grants (CBDG) to be used on new affordable housing construction so long as it doesn’t surpass 20% of a recipient’s total CDBG allocation.
Section 206. Unlocking Housing Supply Through Streamlined And Modernized Reviews Act
This section aims to streamline NEPA review for a broad range of activities, including housing assistance and infill development projects. This section expands HUD’s categorical exclusions to include infill projects, which are defined as residential or commercial projects on sites within municipalities, less than 5 acres in size, served by utilities, that have been previously disturbed, and are currently surrounded by development. Categorical exclusions still go through a review process and usually take a few months to complete. This streamlining will help speed up the process of developing subsidized and other affordable housing.
This section also classifies several activities as fully “exempt activities,” including tenant-based rental assistance, supportive services, operating costs, economic development, home-buyer assistance, affordable housing predevelopment, approval of supplemental assistance, and emergency utility repair.
Acquisition, repair, reconstruction, or rehabilitation of public facilities, and improvements (other than buildings) so long as the infrastructure already exists, will continue to be used for the same purpose, and will not increase in size or capacity by more than 20%. This includes replacement of water lines, sewer lines, repairs to curbs and sidewalks, and repaving of streets.
Acquisition (including leasing) or disposition of vacant land or equity loans on an existing structure so long as the land or structure will continue to be used for the same use.
Rehabilitation of residential buildings with one to four housing units along with any relevant infrastructure connected to the housing.
Construction, development, demolition, acquisition, or disposition of one to four housing units with a limit of four units on one site.
Acquisitions of open space or residential property for continuing its use or to use as open space for people to relocate out of a high-risk area.
Office-to -housing building conversions so long as the project does not increase the building’s size by more than 20%. There will also be a unit limit to be determined by HUD.
Construction, development, demolition, acquisition, or disposition of housing units. There are different requirements depending on the number of units:
Anything with 5 to 15 dwelling units with a limit of 15 units on one site. The 15 units can take any form.
Anything larger than 15 units must be on scattered sites. There cannot be more than 15 units on one site, and HUD will set a rule for how far apart the sites must be from each other.
Rehabilitation and improvements of residential buildings with five to 15 units so long as it does not increase the number of units beyond 15 and the building stays residential
New construction, development, or rehabilitation of infill housing.
The voluntary acquisition of properties in floodplains, floodways, or areas have been impacted by a predictable environmental event.
Section. 207. Grants For Planning And Implementation Associated With Affordable Housing
HUD will create a competitive grant to allow for the planning and implementation of affordable housing. This grant program will start within one year of the act becoming law and will end after five years. The grant will be open to states, territories, urban counties, municipalities, and regional planning agencies. The grant cannot be used for construction, alteration, or repair work. What an applicant can do with grant funds depends on the type of recipient, regional planning agencies can broadly use this grant on assistance and development of plans while others can use it on direct implementation and administration. No recipient can spend more than 10% of the grant on administrative costs.
The following items are activities that states, territories, counties, and municipalities can fund, implement, and administer directly:
State or local housing strategies or housing plans. These housing plans can include:
Increasing housing supply to meet current and projected demand
Increasing housing affordability
Increasing housing accessibility for people with disabilities, including location-efficient housing
Preserving or improving the quality of housing
Reducing barriers to housing development
Coordinating with transportation agencies
Local and regional plans for community development
Funding community development investments that support goals of a housing plan or strategy
Funding planning increase the affordability and accessibility of housing, access to public transportation, and community development goals
New regulations, processes, and zoning codes
Capacity to conduct housing inspections or reduce barriers to housing supply and affordability
Regional planning agencies that receive this can use the funding to assist:
Developing housing plans as defined above
Improving state or local housing strategies
Creating local and regional plans for community development
Improving or community development strategies, and other strategies to address housing, access to public transportation, and advance community development goals
Updating and creating new regulations, processes, and zoning codes
Increasing capacity to conduct housing inspections or reduce barriers to housing supply and affordability
Section 208. Innovation Fund
HUD will create a grant program for cities, urban counties, and tribes that have demonstrated an increase in housing supply growth. HUD will create a list of which cities, urban counties, and tribes meet this requirement and publish its methodology in the Federal Register for public comment at least 90 days before grant applications open. The list of eligible applicants will be posted on HUD’s website. This grant program will be created within one year of the act becoming law and last for seven years. The grants will be anywhere from $250,000 to $10 million, and there will be at least 25 grants a year unless there is not enough funding. This grant program will be created within one year of the act becoming law and will last for seven years.
The eligible activities for this grant include anything eligible under a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) or a Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant. It can also be used for initiatives* that supplement existing or ongoing efforts to facilitate the expansion of supply of attainable housing (serves people making no more than 120% AMI and the majority of units are affordable to people making 60% AMI). Extra weight will be given to applicants who can prove use of innovative policies and a notable improvement in housing supply.
*These initiatives include but are not limited to:
Increasing by-right use of middle or multifamily housing in areas of opportunity
Creating incentives to promote density where needed
Passing ordinances or zoning overlays that enable mixed-income development
Creating tax incentives or public financing to aid attainable housing development
Zoning and other regulatory reforms such as:
Legalization of casitas/ADUs
Reducing or eliminating off-street parking requirements
Reforming rules on minimum lot sizes, setbacks, floor area ratios (FAR), building height, and other rules that constrict denser or more affordable housing development
Reforming water or energy efficiency requirements
Overall streamlining of requirements and regulations related to housing development
Removing restrictions on manufactured or cooperative housing
Applications must include:
A description of what the grant will be used for and how it meets the eligible criteria
Data on the characteristics of housing increased supply in the three years leading up to submission of the application. This can show that new housing has either served a range of income levels or that new housing has increased overall housing quality and affordability.
A description of how the intended use of grant funds meets a community need or fulfils a goal of the applicant’s comprehensive housing affordability strategy and community development plan
A description of the efforts the applicant has made so far to facilitate the expansion of housing supply
Section 209. Accelerating Home Building Act
This section allows HUD to award grants to localities and tribes to select and implement preapproved design plans. These grants will cover the eligible types of housing listed below and are intended to promote mixed-income housing. At least 10% of all grant funding given out by HUD through this program must go to rural areas. No grant awards can go to construction, repairs, or alterations.
Eligible housing types:
ADUs/casitas
Townhouses
Duplex, Triplex, Fourplex
Cottage Courts
Courtyard buildings
Multiplexes
Infill housing
Any structure that has more than two units approved by HUD
When reviewing grants, HUD will consider:
The need for housing in the applicant’s service area
Coordination between the applicant and a state agency
Coordination between the applicant, local and state governments, and regional transportation authorities
Section 212. Rental Assistance Demonstration Program
This section removes the sunset date for the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program and reforms the program to expand it. This section lifts the unit cap on RAD from 455,000 to 555,000 and codifies tenant protections, including the adoption of a mandatory tenant lease and management plan addendum for RAD properties. This section also mandates HUD to conduct a study on the RAD program and its impact.
Section 301. Housing Supply Expansion Act
This section removes the permanent chassis requirement for manufactured housing and directs HUD to establish new regulations for manufactured housing without a permanent chassis. Within one year (two if the state has a biennial legislature), states must certify to HUD that their rules and regulations treat all manufactured housing the same regardless of having a chassis or not. Going forward, states may not adopt laws that treat manufactured housing without a chassis differently than other manufactured housing.
This section also directs HUD to coordinate with other federal agencies to ensure that their rules and regulations on manufactured housing do not discriminate between those with and without a chassis. Within one year, HUD must create new energy efficiency standards for manufactured housing and must update them at least every three years.
Section 501. Home Investment Partnerships Reauthorization And Reform Act
This section permanently reauthorizes the HOME program and institutes reforms to the program. Expands the HOME program homeownership assistance eligibility from low-income to any household below 100% of AMI. Expands eligible uses for HOME program funding to now include infrastructure repairs, only if the jurisdiction does not receive CDBG funding and the housing project is funded through HOME or LIHTC. This section also makes various other changes to the HOME program to expand its use.
This section directs HUD to study the impact of Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) mandates on HOME program projects and issue new guidance. This study will be completed within 180 days of the act becoming law, and the new guidance must be posted 90 days after that. This section also streamlines environmental review by directing HUD to prevent projects from having to go through duplicative environmental reviews as well as adding several HOME funded projects to categorical exclusion under NEPA.
Expands NEPA categorical exemptions for HOME program projects to now include:
