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Introduced April 3, 2025 by Lisa Blunt Rochester · Last progress April 3, 2025
Directs HUD’s research office to produce model state and local zoning guidelines and best practices to increase housing supply, requires public drafts, a multi‑stakeholder task force, and a follow-up report to Congress on adoption and permitting impacts, repeals an existing Regulatory Barriers Clearinghouse, and authorizes $3 million per year for five years to implement the law. The guidelines must address a wide range of zoning reforms (parking, density, accessory units, by‑right multiunit housing, transit‑oriented development, impact fees, anti‑displacement measures), consider fair housing and grant/tax credit effects, and include accountability and data measures; states and localities would not be forced to adopt them but would be encouraged and evaluated.
The bill aims to increase housing supply and affordable housing access by pushing model zoning reforms, clearer standards, and streamlined reviews while providing federal support and limited funding authorization — but it risks local political backlash, displacement, fiscal costs, loss of a centralized Clearinghouse resource, and added administrative burdens if not carefully implemented.
Low- and moderate-income renters and homebuyers across urban, suburban, and rural areas could gain access to more housing as the bill discourages exclusionary zoning, prioritizes affordable units, and pushes states/localities to adopt model zoning that speeds production.
State and local governments will get federal models, technical assistance, and data to design and target zoning reforms, improving local capacity to increase housing supply.
Developers, builders, and local permitting authorities could face clearer, standardized review timelines and more by-right/ministerial approvals, reducing permitting uncertainty and lowering construction transaction costs.
State and local governments (and residents) may experience political friction and legal challenges because the bill exerts federal pressure on local land-use authority and encourages changes to long-standing local zoning.
Low-income renters and communities of color risk displacement or other harms if rezoning and expedited approvals are not carefully implemented with strong anti-displacement protections.
Taxpayers could face additional costs—both from potential future appropriations to implement the Act and from state/local infrastructure or subsidy spending to support denser development—raising fiscal pressures.