Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation to create a federal housing development authority.
The Homes Act would build and preserve as many as 1.3 million homes across the country and help families find an affordable place to live, according to Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York). They are joined on the legislation by Sens. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and 34 members in the House of Representatives.
The bill calls for the establishment of a housing development authority under the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which will function as a public bank and developer and work directly with state, local, and Tribal governmental agencies; mission-driven nonprofits; community land trusts; and public housing authorities to build, rehabilitate, and maintain millions of sustainable, permanently affordable homes.
“Without a safe, decent and affordable place to live, nothing in your life works. It becomes nearly impossible to hold a job, go to school, or stay healthy,” said Smith in a statement. “Our country is facing a housing crisis, with annual supply falling dramatically behind demand. Our proposal would serve renters, and home buyers alike, providing millions of Americans in rural and urban communities with more options for a quality, affordable place to call home—with the sense of stability, security, comfort, and pride that should come with it. Housing is a human right—this is a bill that meets the urgency of the moment we are in.”
The Homes Act lays out a new way to meet people’s needs through “social housing,” according to Smith.
“Instead of treating real estate as a commodity in the speculative market, we would underwrite the construction of millions of new homes so they can remain affordable for the long term,” she said at a press conference. “It’s a public option to build homes either for rent or for homeownership so people can build equity.”
Smith said Ocasio-Cortez reached out to her about collaborating on the bill, which calls for $30 billion in annual appropriations for fiscal years 2025 through 2035.
“In its first decade, the Homes Act will invest $300 billion into our communities, funding over 1 million new housing units,” said Ocasio-Cortez. “Over 850,000 for those units will be for low- and extremely low-income families. This includes both single- and multifamily housing with strong tenant protections.”
The bill also would:
- Empower local communities to address their specific housing needs by financing real estate acquisition or conveying property to public housing authorities, mission-driven nonprofits, tenant- or resident-owned cooperatives, state or local governments, and community land trusts;
- Require the housing development authority to maintain portfoliowide affordability by setting aside 40% of units for extremely low-income households and 30% of units for low-income households;
- Cap rents for units financed under the act at 25% of a household’s adjusted gross income and cannot increase more than 3% per year;
- Support homeownership by allowing residents to purchase homes under shared equity models and providing relief to mortgage borrowers at risk of foreclosure due to market instability or economic distress;
- Provide workers with strong labor protections building this new housing;
- Provide tenants with opportunities to come together to purchase their buildings prior to large, for-profit developers buying them;
- Provide funding to rehabilitate and address the backlog of necessary improvements for public housing and repeal the Faircloth Amendment to allow new public housing; and
- Authorize $30 billion in annual appropriations, combined with a revolving loan fund, to recoup and reinvest funds back into housing. Annual appropriations include a 5% minimum set-aside for Tribal communities and a 10% minimum set-aside for rural communities.
Facing tough odds of passing on Congress, the legislation is endorsed by more than 100 organizations, including the American Federation of Teachers, Community Solutions, Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, Minnesota Housing Partnership, National Alliance to End Homelessness, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Housing Law Project, National Housing Resource Center, National Rural Housing Coalition, Employees International Union, Sierra Cub, Tenant Union Federation, and United Auto Workers.
Read a summary of the bill here.
