Sponsor
William Francis Hagerty
Senator · R-TN
Senator · R-TN
Official title: Require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish a Freedom to Build designation for certain localities.
Introduced March 26, 2026 by William Francis Hagerty · Last progress March 26, 2026
The bill seeks to increase housing supply and improve federal investment returns by incentivizing local pro-housing reforms, but does so by constraining local land-use control and tenant/environmental protections and reallocating federal funds toward selected jurisdictions.
Renters and prospective homebuyers in designated areas are likely to see more housing units built and reduced upward pressure on rents and home prices as localities that meet HUD's affordability-adjusted targets ease regulatory barriers.
Renters and low-income residents in jurisdictions that adopt pro-building policies will gain priority for HUD and related federal housing and community-development grants, increasing the odds of new affordable units locally.
Builders, developers, and construction workers will face faster, more predictable permitting (by-right approvals, binding timelines, remedies for missed deadlines), speeding project delivery and reducing discretionary delays.
Local governments and communities will lose zoning and regulatory control—limiting tools like rent stabilization, mandatory below-market set-asides, or other locally chosen land-use rules—reducing local policy flexibility.
Tenants—especially in high-cost areas—may lose tenant-protection tools (e.g., rent stabilization or mandatory local set-asides), increasing risk of housing instability or higher rents for vulnerable renters.
Communities that choose to retain restrictive or preservation-focused zoning may be cut off from HUD competitive grants and related federal funds, reducing resources for local projects that do not align with the 'pro-building' designation.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
HUD will create a voluntary "Freedom to Build" designation for localities that adopt specified pro-housing regulatory reforms and give HUD grant priority to designated areas.
Creates a voluntary "Freedom to Build" designation that HUD will award to localities that adopt specified pro-housing regulatory reforms. HUD must establish the program within 18 months, publish an annual list of designated communities, make each designation effective for five years (renewable), and define qualifying reforms through notice-and-comment rulemaking. Gives priority for HUD competitive grants related to housing and community development to applicants in designated communities and urges other federal agencies to consider the designation as a positive factor when awarding relevant competitive grants. The law lists a set of model regulatory reforms (for example, streamlined permitting, by-right approvals, limits on certain local fee practices, and acceptance of off-site construction standards) that localities must adopt or otherwise meet to qualify.