The Housing BOOM Act aims to increase the supply of affordable housing by significantly raising the state-level limit on Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and establishing new federal funding mechanisms, including a Middle Income Housing Construction Loan Fund and a Workforce Housing Block Grant Program. The bill directs billions in annual appropriations over five years to support rental construction for households earning between 60 and 120 percent of the area median income, while also increasing existing subsidies for homeless assistance, rural housing, and supportive housing for the elderly and persons with disabilities. To address tenant stability, the legislation creates a new Office of Eviction Prevention within the Department of Housing and Urban Development and authorizes grants to help convert unused government buildings and hotels into emergency shelters and affordable units. Additionally, the act establishes an Interagency Council on Housing Affordability to coordinate federal policy and requires prevailing wage standards for construction workers on federally assisted projects.
The Housing Price Transparency Act requires landlords and property managers who use algorithms to set rental prices to clearly disclose this practice to tenants. The Federal Trade Commission is authorized to enforce these rules by treating violations as unfair or deceptive acts, while state attorneys general may also bring civil actions on behalf of their residents if federal enforcement is not pending. Individuals injured by non-compliance can file private lawsuits in federal court to seek injunctions and recover damages of at least $10,000 per violation or actual monetary losses, whichever is greater.
The Stable Homes Act directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development to launch a five-year pilot program that provides $300 million annually in grants to local governments for establishing or expanding eviction diversion programs. These programs require landlords to notify tenants of their right to participate in dispute resolution before filing formal eviction proceedings, mandating at least 30 days of good-faith negotiation involving services such as mediation, housing counseling, and rental assistance. The legislation ensures that low-income tenants have access to free legal counsel if their landlord is represented by an attorney, while allowing landlords to bypass the program only in cases involving an imminent threat of physical harm. Local governments receiving these grants must submit annual reports detailing case outcomes, costs, and tenant demographics to Congress through 2030.
The Green New Deal for Public Housing Act directs federal funds to public housing agencies and tribal entities to rehabilitate, modernize, and electrify the nation's public housing stock into zero-carbon homes within ten years. The bill establishes grant programs that require recipients to conduct deep energy retrofits, install renewable energy systems, upgrade water quality infrastructure, and provide high-speed internet access to residents. In exchange for these funds, agencies must commit to maintaining their total number of housing units, ensuring displaced residents can return to their original projects, and adhering to strict labor standards that prioritize hiring low-income individuals and supporting resident-owned businesses. Additionally, the legislation strengthens tenant participation by mandating the formation of elected resident councils in larger developments and providing stipends for volunteer officers who help manage community operations.
This bill, known as the Housing Voucher Funding Reallocation Act, aims to change how unspent federal housing funds are managed at the end of each fiscal year. It directly affects public housing agencies that administer tenant-based assistance, such as housing vouchers. Under the new rules, agencies that do not use all their allocated funds must return the leftover money to the federal government. These recaptured funds are then redistributed to other public housing agencies that have exhausted their entire budgets. The goal is to ensure that available housing assistance reaches more eligible individuals rather than remaining unused in agencies with excess capacity.
The Foster Youth Housing Opportunity Act aims to improve housing stability for current and former foster youth by expanding their access to federal housing assistance and supportive services. It amends existing laws to allow states to use funding for services such as financial literacy counseling, help with lease contracts, and assistance with security deposits and moving costs. The bill also clarifies that these supportive services do not count toward spending limits on room and board, enabling more funds to be used for housing support. Additionally, it requires the Departments of Health and Human Services and Housing and Urban Development to create joint guidance within a year to better coordinate programs for youth aging out of foster care. Finally, the act mandates a report to Congress within three years detailing how many eligible youth are receiving housing aid and the outcomes of these programs.
This bill, known as the Protecting Homeowners from Squatters Act, aims to stop people from illegally occupying homes by defining squatting as entering a property and staying there for at least 10 to 14 days without the owner's permission or payment of rent. It directs local law enforcement to quickly remove squatters and prosecute them according to local laws while prohibiting the use of federal benefits to support or encourage such behavior. The legislation also ties federal housing funds to local compliance by withholding Community Development Block Grant money from jurisdictions that allow squatting or grant special tenant rights to squatters, and it bars federal mortgage support for loans secured by properties in those non-compliant areas.
The Renter Resource Center Act directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development to create a toll-free phone line and website for renters living in properties owned by large institutional investors, such as investment funds that control at least 350 single-family homes. This resource allows tenants to report disputes regarding federal or state law violations and other rental issues, while also enabling the government to share information with relevant agencies to monitor and resolve these conflicts. Landlords covered by this law must notify their tenants annually about the new reporting system and prominently display this information on their public websites. Additionally, the bill requires these large investors to submit yearly reports to Congress detailing their portfolio of single-family homes and the types of disputes received through the new outreach channel.
The Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act of 2026 expands disaster relief assistance to individuals who lived in disaster areas but lacked formal proof of ownership or were not renting, including those who were homeless or stayed in temporary accommodations. It allows these eligible households to use federal funds to pay for obtaining property titles, such as costs for land surveys and associated taxes, by accepting a wide range of documents like utility bills, driver's licenses, and school records as evidence of their connection to the property. The bill also requires FEMA to create a simple, non-notarized form for applicants to self-certify their eligibility and mandates that the agency consult with the Department of Housing and Urban Development to coordinate temporary rental assistance programs for displaced residents. Additionally, the legislation amends existing disaster housing rules to focus on ensuring residences are habitable during long-term recovery and permits temporary housing if the President deems it a cost-effective alternative to other solutions.
This bill amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to restrict how background information is shared with landlords when screening potential tenants. It directly affects individuals with criminal records by prohibiting consumer reporting agencies from including specific data in reports used for rental housing decisions. Key provisions ban the inclusion of arrest records, juvenile adjudications, expunged convictions, and cases resolved through diversion programs, while also preventing the reporting of convictions that have been completed or where the individual is currently on probation or parole. Additionally, the legislation requires landlords who deny housing based on these reports to provide applicants with the specific reasons for the denial within three days. Finally, the bill prevents states from setting their own time limits for how long certain types of criminal information can be excluded from these reports.
