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

Summary

Classifies development, operation, and maintenance of affordable housing for extremely low-, very low-, and low-income families as a "public purpose" under the federal Recreation and Public Purposes Act so such projects can use federal public land conveyance authorities. It also creates a temporary Joint Task Force led by HUD and the Interior Department to find underused federal land for housing, speed land transfers, promote policies to increase affordable housing, assess related costs to other governments, and report annually to Congress; the Task Force sunsets after 10 years.

• Classifies affordable housing for extremely low-, very low-, and low-income families as a "public purpose" under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act.
• Makes such affordable-housing projects explicitly eligible to use federal land conveyance and use authorities.
• Creates a HUD-Interior Joint Task Force to identify underutilized federal land for housing and to streamline land transfer processes.
• Task Force must be established within 30 days of enactment and will sunset after 10 years.
• The Task Force must submit annual reports to Congress on its activities and findings.
• No new appropriations are specified; costs for Task Force activities are not explicitly funded by this legislation.
• Does not itself require construction, transfer, or development—further agency action and compliance with existing laws remain necessary.
• Includes a requirement to evaluate costs borne by other federal and state entities from the lack of affordable housing.