Government
Builders Await Implementation Plans as Landmark Housing Bill Becomes Law
Backed by overwhelming bipartisan congressional support, the legislation goes into effect without the president’s sign-off
Several building groups applauded the enactment of the massive housing bill that became law July 13, including the Modular Home Builders Association, even though MHBA and others hope to be able to weigh in on how the bill is implemented through the regulatory process.
With the recent passage of a landmark housing bill in Congress, builders are eyeing the next steps federal agencies must take to develop guidelines and establish the regulatory framework for implementing the new law, and whether there will be room at the table for the industry to have a voice in the process.
On June 29, Congress sent the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act to President Donald Trump, with the expectation he would sign it into law. The president—who had 10 days to sign the legislation, veto it or do nothing in which case the bill would automatically become law—opted to let the clock run out in protest over Congress opposition to voting on separate voter ID legislation, the SAVE America Act.
A slew of industry groups immediately praised the passage of the new law, a massive legislative package made up of more than 60 previously introduced standalone bills and more than 50 provisions dedicated to housing and banking. Many, including the National Housing Conference (NHC), said they plan to be in communication with one or more of the multiple agencies working together on the implementation process.
Among numerous initiatives, the legislation establishes the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development as the lead authority for manufactured home construction standards, authorizes the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG) program for three years, and requiring that CDBG grantees maintain a publicly accessible database that identifies undeveloped land by jurisdiction.
The legislation also authorizes a new pilot program to offer state, local and tribal governments grants for regional housing planning and community development activities, as well as a pilot program under the HOME Investment Partnerships Program to convert vacant and abandoned buildings into attainable housing.
“This legislation will only be as effective as its implementation. Regulations must be written that ensure the bill’s promise becomes reality,” NHC President and CEO David M. Dworkin said in a statement. To that end, NHC’s Housing Supply Working Group will immediately begin using AI to help the departments of Housing and Urban Development, Treasury, Agriculture and Veterans Affairs in writing the regulations “in a fraction of the time it would have taken in the past.”
Tom Hardiman, executive director of the Modular Home Builders Association says that as the bill was making its way through Congress, his group fought against a provision modifying the federal definition of manufactured housing to include units that are not built on a permanent chassis. MHBA argued that modular homes must meet the same building codes as those built on site while manufactured home are built to Housing and Urban Development code, Hardiman told ENR.
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“Our concern was that [the modification] would start to blur the lines and make it look like modular homes are built to a less robust standard,” he said.
The provision to eliminate a permanent chassis requirement, however, is now part of the law. “We kind of knew we were fighting a little bit of an uphill battle on that one, but overall … this is the first housing bill in three decades and that’s a positive,” Hardiman said. However, there may also be room yet to bring up concerns as the law directs the Government Accountability Office to study issues to help advance housing and economic opportunities, Hardiman said.
The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) pushed against a requirement in the original bill for large-scale institutional investors to sell build-to-rent (BTR) properties to individuals within seven years. While the new law prohibits these investors from buying new single-family homes, it allows for certain exemptions when purchasing new BTR properties.
“While no piece of legislation is perfect, this is the most significant piece of housing legislation in a generation,” said Colin Dunn, NMHC spokesperson. “We're looking forward to the progress it makes as well as how it can open the doors to even more ambitious legislation going forward.”
The National League of Cities welcomes the legislation for preserving local zoning authority, avoiding unfunded mandates for local governments and aligning with local infrastructure needs, NLC President Kevin Kramer said in a statement.
