President Orders Red Tape Slash for Cheaper Homes Nationwide
Published Date: 3/18/2026
Presidential Document
Summary
This new order cuts red tape that slows down building affordable homes, making it easier and cheaper for people to buy houses. It affects builders, local governments, and homebuyers by speeding up permits and easing rules around water and land use. These changes start rolling out soon, aiming to save money and boost housing options across the country.
Analyzed Economic Effects
7 provisions identified: 7 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Easing Water Permits that Slow Homebuilding
The order directs the Army Corps and EPA to review and revise rules tied to stormwater and waters protections to reduce housing construction and ownership costs. It names specific items for review, including the Construction General Permit for stormwater discharges, federally issued Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), MS4 (Municipal Separate Stormwater System) construction and post-construction requirements, Clean Water Act section 404 permit standards for dredge and fill, and State/Tribal assumption standards under CWA section 404(g).
Faster Environmental and Historical Reviews
The Council on Environmental Quality is ordered to give guidance so agencies use categorical exclusions and other National Environmental Policy Act steps to reduce or remove burdens on housing and related infrastructure projects. The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation must also issue guidance to reduce burdens under section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act for housing projects.
HUD Issues State/Local Permitting Best Practices
Within 60 days of the order dated March 13, 2026, HUD must develop best practices for State and local governments to speed permitting and lower costs. Examples include capping permitting timelines and fees, allowing by-right development for single-family homes, limiting retroactive application of new building codes, allowing third-party inspections, and ensuring swift dispute resolution.
Curtailing Building Mandates and Zoning Limits
HUD's best practices are to include curtailing mandates that increase construction costs—such as green-energy building requirements or non-evidence-based codes—and re-examining restrictions on manufactured or modular housing. The order also directs removing arbitrary limitations on residential development beyond urban centers, like urban growth boundaries, growth moratoria, and commuting penalties.
Reviewing Energy and Water Efficiency Rules for Housing
The order directs USDA, HUD, DOE, and FHFA to review and, where appropriate, reform or eliminate energy-efficiency, water-use, or alternative-energy requirements for housing—explicitly including manufactured housing, Energy Conservation standards for manufactured housing, HUD- and USDA-financed housing efficiency standards, residential building energy codes subject to DOE review, and FHFA water/energy standards for underserved properties.
FHFA and Others to Encourage Manufactured Home Financing
The order directs FHFA (along with HUD, Commerce, DOT as relevant) to consider reforming programs that constrain development and specifically to review FHFA guidelines and regulations related to chattel lending for manufactured housing and incentives for low-balance home mortgages.
Opportunity Zone and Tax Incentive Coordination for Homes
The Secretary of the Treasury and HUD must evaluate aligning Opportunity Zone tax incentives and the New Markets Tax Credit to expand investment in single-family home construction, including considering linking grants or financing to Qualified Opportunity Funds that develop and sell single-family homes.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
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