Utilizing National Land for Opportunities and Community Key (UNLOCK) Housing Act

House Votes

This bill makes it easier to use certain federal lands for affordable housing. It says building, running, and maintaining affordable homes for low-income families counts as a “public purpose,” which helps unlock federal land for housing projects.

It also creates a Joint Task Force led by the housing and interior departments. This group must quickly find underused federal land that could be turned into homes, simplify land transfers, encourage policies that grow the supply of affordable housing, and measure the costs that a lack of affordable housing puts on governments. The task force must report every year and will end 10 years after the law starts.

• Who is affected: Low-income families needing affordable homes; communities near federal land; federal and state agencies.
• What changes: Affordable housing is treated as a public use for federal land; a task force will identify land, speed up transfers, and track impacts.
• When: The task force must be set up within 30 days of the law taking effect and will operate for 10 years, with yearly reports.