Housing for the 21st Century Act

Key Provisions

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) would create guidelines for states and cities to update zoning and land-use rules, encouraging more housing types and reducing building obstacles.
• HUD would offer grants to local governments to create pre-approved building designs ("pattern books") to streamline and speed up housing construction permits.
• The definition of "manufactured home" would expand to include homes built without a permanent chassis. States would need to certify that their laws treat these homes the same as those with a chassis.
• The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) would make environmental reviews faster for certain housing projects, including small infill developments and conversions of office buildings to homes.
• Federal loan limits for multifamily housing would significantly increase, making it easier to finance the construction of apartment buildings.