Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Modernization Act of 2026

Summary

Creates a wide set of changes to federal Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian housing law to give tribes and tribal housing entities greater flexibility and self-determination, expand eligible uses and beneficiaries of housing programs, create new tribal homelessness and Native Hawaiian homeless assistance programs, extend and renew authorizations for program funding, and streamline certain administrative, procurement, environmental review, and reporting rules. Key changes include allowing tribal procurement policies, permitting written tribal policies to set rents or homebuyer payments above the usual 30%-of-income cap, raising certain homeownership income limits to 120% of area median income (with a 50% cap on grant use), extending lease terms on trust/restricted lands to 99 years, exempting tribal recipients from some federal certification and Buy America requirements, and creating several new tribal-targeted programs and advisory structures. The bill adds procedural protections and timetables for HUD actions, authorizes optional consolidated reporting, requires public availability of HUD reports to Congress and recipients, directs HUD coordination with the Department of Defense on construction training projects, sets up a Tribal Intergovernmental Advisory Committee and required reports on supply‑chain and regional housing challenges, and revises environmental-review and waiver authorities to reduce duplicative federal reviews when tribes assume review responsibilities and other federal funds are limited to less than half of the federal share of a project.

• Authorizes tribes/TDHEs to adopt their own written procurement policies and to set rents/homebuyer payments above the 30%-of-income cap if publicly posted.
• Raises the maximum lease term on trust/restricted lands for housing from 50 to 99 years.
• Allows some homeownership assistance to families up to 120% AMI but caps use of grant funds for such households at 50% of a recipient’s annual grant.
• Creates tribal-targeted homelessness programs (Tribal HUD‑VASH, Tribal Homeless Assistance, Native Hawaiian Homeless Assistance) and a Tribal and Rural Continuum of Care Builds Program.
• Exempts tribal recipients from certain HUD counseling certification and Build America, Buy America requirements and grants HUD expanded waiver authority (with specific exceptions).
• Enables tribes or the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to assume consolidated environmental review responsibilities when other federal funds are less than 49% of federal project share.
• Requires HUD to make NAHASDA reports publicly available, establishes a Tribal Intergovernmental Advisory Committee, and mandates supply‑chain and regional housing reports for Alaska and Native Hawaiian needs.
• Expands lender eligibility and allows HUD to delegate endorsement authority and require indemnification in Indian/Hawaiian loan guarantee programs.
• Updates procurement de minimis threshold to track federal micro‑purchase levels (150% of the micro‑purchase threshold).
• Adds procedural protections and timelines for HUD suspension/limitation of grant payments and allows an optional consolidated annual performance report for tribes.