Title 42 — The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73
§12705b Definition of regulatory barriers to affordable housing
Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 130— - NATIONAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - GENERAL PROVISIONS AND POLICIES › § 12705b
Summary
'Regulatory barriers to affordable housing' and 'regulatory barriers' mean local laws, rules, or processes a locality must list in its housing plan. They exclude rent-setting rules and any policies that create or preserve housing for low- and very low-income families, such as protections, funding, zoning, tax waivers, and similar tools.
Full Legal Text
Title 42, §12705b
The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
For purposes of sections 12705a to 12705d of this title, the terms “regulatory barriers to affordable housing” and “regulatory barriers” mean any public policies (including policies embodied in statutes, ordinances, regulations, or administrative procedures or processes) required to be identified by a jurisdiction in connection with its comprehensive housing affordability strategy under section 12705(b)(4) of this title. Such terms do not include policies relating to rents imposed on a structure by a jurisdiction or policies that have served to create or preserve, or can be shown to create or preserve, housing for low- and very low-income families, including displacement protections, demolition controls, replacement housing requirements, relocation benefits, housing trust funds, dedicated funding sources, waiver of local property taxes and builder fees, inclusionary zoning, rental zoning overlays, long-term use restrictions, and rights of first refusal.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
Sections 12705a to 12705d of this title, referred to in text, were in the original “this title”, meaning title XII of Pub. L. 102–550, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3938, known as the Removal of Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing Act of 1992, which enacted sections 12705a to 12705d of this title, amended section 5306 and 12705 of this title, and enacted provisions set out as notes under section 12705a of this title. Codification Section was enacted as part of the Removal of Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing Act of 1992, and also as part of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, and not as part of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act which comprises this chapter.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
42 U.S.C. § 12705b
Title 42 — The Public Health and Welfare
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73