21st Century ROAD to Housing Act

The bill directs the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to publish national guidelines and best practices for state and local zoning and land-use rules. These guidelines cover ideas like allowing more housing types (duplexes, triplexes, accessory units), reducing parking and lot-size rules, encouraging transit-oriented development, and streamlining local review timelines. HUD must later report on which states and cities adopt these ideas, but the bill states HUD cannot punish places that choose not to adopt them. It creates several pilot grant programs to help local governments design and pre‑approve small and mid‑size housing designs using “pattern books,” test single‑stair “point‑access block” apartment buildings, and support regional and local planning tied to affordable housing and transportation. Many sections reduce or simplify federal environmental reviews for certain small or infill housing projects and allow tribes and local governments to take on more review duties, with regular reporting back to Congress on time and cost savings. The bill makes many changes to existing housing laws, including the HOME Investment Partnerships program and Community Development Block Grants. It broadens who can be served (up to 100% of area median income in some HOME provisions), lets some small jurisdictions use funds for basic infrastructure tied to housing, raises minimum formula grants, and adds categorical exemptions from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for specified types of HOME-funded projects like infill housing and small developments. It also recognizes certain small rental properties and community land trusts as qualifying long‑term affordable housing under clearer rules. Other sections raise federal loan limits for multifamily mortgages insured by HUD so they better match current construction costs, and they promote manufactured and modular housing by updating legal definitions. The bill directs multiple Government Accountability Office (GAO) studies on workforce housing, rural housing technology, and program performance. It also reforms how Section 8 voucher inspections can be done, including allowing pre‑inspections, recognition of inspections done for other federal housing programs, and in some rural cases, remote or video inspections. Title IV includes consumer-facing protections and pilots, such as excluding certain disability benefits from income calculations in assisted housing, improving interagency coordination among HUD, USDA, and VA, expanding a family self‑sufficiency escrow pilot, and creating an eviction helpline and a temperature‑sensor pilot for assisted housing. Title V adds oversight tools, including stronger accountability expectations for public housing agencies and a requirement that certain housing providers testify before Congress when requested. Title VI focuses on community banks and credit unions that supply housing and small‑business credit. It creates or authorizes changes around deposit access, keeping local deposits in local institutions, and tailored supervision. It establishes mentor‑protege programs to help small and rural financial institutions and “de novo” (new) banks, requires agencies to streamline new bank applications, and allows temporary phase‑ins of capital rules for new community banks. It also adjusts how the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) can handle failing banks, including limited exceptions to “least‑cost” requirements when needed to reduce concentration in very large global banks, paired with cost caps, added assessments, and reporting to Congress. Finally, it slightly reduces the Federal Reserve’s surplus fund in a future year to free funds for these activities.