Downpayment Toward Equity Act of 2025
Sponsored By: Representative Waters, Maxine [D-CA-43]
Introduced
Summary
A new HUD grant program to help first-generation homebuyers would provide downpayment and related assistance to narrow racial and multigenerational homeownership gaps.
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- First-generation homebuyers would get grants for downpayments, closing costs, interest-rate relief, and shared-equity subsidies, plus certain pre-occupancy accessibility modifications. Grants require repayment if the buyer does not occupy the home as a primary residence, with proportional repayment up to five years and possible waivers after that.
- States and local eligible entities would receive the funds to run the program, with roughly 75% of grant dollars going to States and 25% awarded competitively to eligible entities.
- Counseling and education are required before a purchase agreement or loan application, and the bill floors counseling funding at not less than 5% of appropriations and allows alternative education if capacity is limited.
- The program sets uniform fair housing and integrity rules, permits layering of other assistance, requires annual public reporting down to ZIP or census tract level with privacy safeguards, and authorizes a study on historic discrimination to guide remedies.
*Would authorize $100 billion for HUD grants, subject to appropriation and available until expended.*
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 1 costs, 2 mixed.
New grants for first-generation buyers
This bill would create HUD grants to help first‑generation buyers purchase a main home. It would authorize $100 billion and, after reserves, send 75% to states and 25% to local eligible groups. You could qualify if your income is at or below 120% of area median income (140% in high‑cost areas), and the home has 1–4 units you will live in with an eligible mortgage. The grant could cover downpayment, closing costs, rate buy‑downs, shared‑equity subsidies, and needed disability modifications. A grant would be the larger of $20,000 or 10% of the price (disability modifications do not count toward the cap), and HUD could raise limits for disadvantaged buyers or high‑cost areas.
Live‑in rules and payback
If enacted, you would have to repay part of the grant if you stop living in the home as your main residence before five years. The amount would shrink each year and be zero after five years. Repayment could be waived for hardship. It could also be waived if you sell within 60 months to a real buyer and your capital gains are less than the amount you would owe. Shared‑equity purchases would follow separate rules.
Oversight, data, and targeting rules
HUD would publish yearly reports on applicants and recipients, including race, ethnicity, gender, amounts of help, home details, and mortgage type, broken out by ZIP Code or census tract when possible. States and grantees would have to protect personal data and safeguard survivors’ confidentiality. HUD could change grantee practices, take back slow‑moving funds, and move money if spending lags or help is not reaching disadvantaged groups. HUD could also issue rules that take effect when announced. The bill would define which entities can compete for funds and give a rebuttable presumption of social disadvantage to people identifying as Black, Hispanic, Native American, or Asian‑American; economic disadvantage would tie to the bill’s income limits.
Fair selection and no hidden fees
States and grantees would not be allowed to favor buyers who use state‑backed mortgages when choosing who gets help. They also could not claw back the assistance by charging higher prices or fees, except under the bill’s set recapture rules or if HUD allows it.
Homebuyer counseling before you buy
You would need to finish HUD‑approved counseling before signing a purchase contract or applying for the loan to get help. Counseling could be in person, online, or by phone. If counseling is not available within 30 days, approved online education could be allowed. If you are denied a mortgage after a help commitment, you would be sent back to counseling and could try to requalify at least once that year.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Waters, Maxine [D-CA-43]
CA • D
Cosponsors
Rep. Green, Al [D-TX-9]
TX • D
Sponsored 6/23/2025
Rep. Pressley, Ayanna [D-MA-7]
MA • D
Sponsored 6/23/2025
Rep. Garcia, Sylvia R. [D-TX-29]
TX • D
Sponsored 6/23/2025
Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
DC • D
Sponsored 6/26/2025
Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12]
MI • D
Sponsored 6/26/2025
Rep. Fields, Cleo [D-LA-6]
LA • D
Sponsored 6/26/2025
Rep. Torres, Ritchie [D-NY-15]
NY • D
Sponsored 6/26/2025
Rep. Beatty, Joyce [D-OH-3]
OH • D
Sponsored 6/26/2025
McGovern
MA • D
Sponsored 6/26/2025
Rep. Leger Fernandez, Teresa [D-NM-3]
NM • D
Sponsored 6/26/2025
Rep. Cleaver, Emanuel [D-MO-5]
MO • D
Sponsored 6/26/2025
Rep. Williams, Nikema [D-GA-5]
GA • D
Sponsored 6/26/2025
Rep. Ramirez, Delia C. [D-IL-3]
IL • D
Sponsored 6/26/2025
Carson
IN • D
Sponsored 6/26/2025
Rep. Pettersen, Brittany [D-CO-7]
CO • D
Sponsored 7/2/2025
Rep. Vargas, Juan [D-CA-52]
CA • D
Sponsored 7/2/2025
Rep. Evans, Dwight [D-PA-3]
PA • D
Sponsored 7/2/2025
Rep. Ansari, Yassamin [D-AZ-3]
AZ • D
Sponsored 7/22/2025
Rep. Omar, Ilhan [D-MN-5]
MN • D
Sponsored 9/18/2025
Rep. Magaziner, Seth [D-RI-2]
RI • D
Sponsored 10/17/2025
Rep. Carbajal, Salud O. [D-CA-24]
CA • D
Sponsored 3/26/2026
Rep. Foushee, Valerie P. [D-NC-4]
NC • D
Sponsored 4/20/2026
Grijalva
AZ • D
Sponsored 4/27/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov