ROAD to Housing Act of 2025
Sponsored By: Senator Tim Scott
In Committee
Summary
Modernize and expand affordable housing supply and repairs. This multi‑title package funds whole‑home repairs and landlord forgivable loans, speeds environmental reviews to build more housing, reforms manufactured and modular housing rules, and creates a dedicated disaster recovery fund and innovation grants to boost production and resilience.
Show full summary
- Families and renters: Creates a whole‑home repairs pilot with homeowner grants and landlord forgivable loans to preserve affordable units, and an Escrow Expansion pilot enrolling up to 5,000 covered families to help households save from earned‑income gains.
- Homebuilders, manufacturers, and developers: Lowers barriers for manufactured and modular homes, funds pre‑reviewed design grants, and offers competitive Innovation Fund awards from $250,000 to $10.0 million; the Fund is authorized at $200.0 million per year for FY2027–FY2031.
- Disaster‑impacted and rural communities: Establishes a Long‑Term CDBG Disaster Recovery Fund with preliminary emergency funding up to $5 million per event and allows up to an 18% mitigation add‑on to unmet needs; rural housing measures strengthen USDA programs and voucher continuity.
*Authorizes new federal spending across multiple programs, including $200.0 million per year for the Innovation Fund and conditional grants up to $100.0 million, increasing federal outlays.*
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
18 provisions identified: 10 benefits, 0 costs, 8 mixed.
Higher FHA loan limits and study
If enacted, the bill would raise many FHA dollar limits and explicitly allow FHA loans to build accessory dwelling units. It sets specific new loan caps for repairs, manufactured home purchases, and related uses and requires the FHA Secretary to pick an annual indexing method within one year. The FHA Commissioner must also study multifamily loan limits and report to Congress within 180 days.
Repair grants and foreclosure help
If enacted, HUD would create a Whole‑Home Repairs pilot within one year to give grants to eligible homeowners and loans to small landlords. Landlord loans may be forgivable after up to 3 years and must include tenant protections and rent caps (5% or inflation, whichever is lower) for at least 3 years. The bill would require borrowers 30+ days delinquent on FHA, VA, USDA, or Section 184 loans to be offered housing counseling. When conditions are met, the FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund would pay for foreclosure‑mitigation counseling.
HOME funding and land‑trust tools
If enacted, the bill would reauthorize HOME and let local jurisdictions use up to 15% of HOME funds for administration and remove a statutory commitment deadline. Localities could use resale price formulas or recapture rules to keep HOME homes affordable and HUD would define and allow community land trusts to acquire and resell HOME‑assisted homes to preserve affordability. HUD could also run a Blighted Building to Housing pilot using up to $100 million of excess HOME funds when HOME allocations exceed $1.35 billion.
Manufactured and modular housing reforms
If enacted, the federal definition of a manufactured home would allow homes with or without a permanent chassis. HUD would make competitive grants for resident‑focused manufactured housing communities and require States to certify parity rules for homes without a chassis. HUD must review FHA construction financing barriers for modular building and may fund a study to design a standard code for modular modules.
More rural housing and loan help
If enacted, USDA would raise the Section 504 minor improvement loan cap to $15,000 and reserve at least 60% of loan funds for very low-income applicants. Section 515 projects could transfer to nonprofits or public bodies to help preserve rural rental housing. Certain USDA-financed multifamily properties would follow updated foreclosure procedures. Home-based child care providers would be excluded from a loan restriction so they can access loans. When loans are restructured, rental assistance renewal of up to 20 years would be offered subject to appropriations.
Rural housing preservation and loans
If enacted, the bill would create a Housing Preservation and Revitalization program and let the Secretary restructure loans and renew rental assistance for rural multifamily projects. It would allow rural housing vouchers for many households whose properties were prepaid, foreclosed, or matured after Sept. 30, 2005. For Section 502 loans, ADU rental income could be used to qualify (for properties built before enactment) and approved assumptions would release the original borrower. The bill also requires tenant notices before loan maturity and funds staffing, IT, grants, and technical help for rural programs.
Long-term disaster recovery fund
If enacted, the bill would create a Long-Term Disaster Recovery Fund at Treasury for HUD CDBG-DR grants. The Secretary would publish allocation rules within 30 days and decide catastrophic status within 90 days (120 if more data needed). Grantees must use funds within six years, and at least 70% of each grant must help low- and moderate-income people unless waived. The Secretary may make preliminary grants up to $5 million per recipient to speed recovery.
Grants and rules to speed housing
If enacted, HUD would create an Innovation Fund and must award not fewer than 25 grants per year, with $200 million authorized per year for FY2027–FY2031. HUD would also fund grants to adopt pre‑reviewed building designs and publish model zoning guidance within three years to reduce permitting barriers. HUD may give extra weight to projects in Qualified Opportunity Zones and must set aside at least 10% of some funds for rural areas.
Homeless and voucher program changes
If enacted, HUD would let Continuums of Care request limited waivers of a spending cap for 2026–2029 if they show local need and public input. HUD must evaluate and update coordinated assessment and HMIS guidance and the GAO must study coordinated entry within one year. The bill creates an Escrow Expansion Pilot for up to 5,000 Section 8/9 families to save rent increases tied to earned income, and allows PHAs to accept recent third‑party income verifications to speed voucher processing.
Stronger appraisal rights and small mortgages
If enacted, you could ask your lender once to reconsider an appraisal before closing or within 60 days. Lenders must order a new appraisal at their expense when serious problems or discrimination are found. HUD would require FHA appraisers to be state-licensed and take FHA training. The CFPB must study mortgages under $100,000 and may change fee and compensation rules to expand small loans. FHFA would add a military question and a VA note to the mortgage form, and FHA would report first-time buyer counts by census tract.
Make RAD permanent
If enacted, the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) would be made permanent instead of ending in 2029. HUD must publish annual findings on conversions and may require fixes or impose civil money penalties for material violations. The bill preserves existing tenant and owner rights.
More flexibility for homeless programs
If enacted, HUD would let some federal inspections count for Section 8 and allow remote or early inspections to speed leasing. Homeless program grantees could pre-inspect units up to 60 days before leasing. CoC rules would allow up to 15‑year award terms, permit up to six months of arrears payments, and raise the minimum award size. ESG administrative caps would rise from 7.5% to 10%. The bill also creates housing‑healthcare demonstrations for people with high needs and includes a narrow tribal CoC civil rights exception for certain awards.
Faster approvals and growth incentives
If enacted, HUD would expand NEPA categorical exclusions and treat many small housing projects as exempt to speed reviews. Transportation projects can get a one‑point score boost if areas along the route have pro-housing policies. HUD would change CDBG Section 106 grants by housing growth rates: places below the median could lose 10% of their allocation, and higher-growth places could get redistributed bonuses. The CDBG change begins the second full fiscal year after enactment and runs through FY2042.
Protect and finance affordable housing
If enacted, HUD would require on-site HOME inspections and publish results. HUD could remove jurisdictions from HOME reallocations for noncompliance. The bill would allow a foreclosure or transfer-in-lieu to count when it preserves affordability for small rental buildings. HUD may raise FHA multifamily loan limits by rule, but any increase could not exceed listed per-unit ceilings and a prior fixed 140% statutory phrase is replaced with Secretary discretion.
Housing studies and data reports
If enacted, HUD, USDA, and VA would sign an MOU and send a joint report to Congress within 180 days listing laws that hurt housing availability. The GAO would study a public appraisal database and report in 240 days. GAO would also study VA form disclaimer compliance within 18 months. HUD must study off-site construction costs and quality and report to Congress.
Small‑owner tenant selection changes
If enacted, certain owners that meet a "small‑scale housing" test could opt out of some HUD tenant‑selection rules. That would give qualifying owners more tenant choice, while some renters at those properties could lose those specific protections.
Stronger oversight for housing counselors
If enacted, HUD could deny renewal of housing counseling assistance based on a performance review, but must give at least 60 days notice and allow an informal conference. NeighborWorks would be added to certain federal audit rules and must have annual independent audits. The bill would authorize OIG funding for the corporation and require regular audits.
Raise bank numeric threshold to 20
If enacted, the bill would change two statutory sentences by replacing the number '15' with '20' in the cited laws. This raises a numeric threshold used in those sections and alters which entities are covered by the rules.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Tim Scott
SC • R
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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