HR4659-119

What This Bill Does

The Identifying Regulatory Barriers to Housing Supply Act amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to attach a land-use policy reporting plan to Community Development Block Grant receipt. Congress finds that the United States has a shortage of millions of homes, high cost-burdened households, and about $2 trillion per year in lost opportunities and lower productivity from the housing shortage. Before receiving specified section 106 grants in any fiscal year, each recipient must have submitted, at least once in the prior five-year period and in HUD's standardized regulatory form, a description for each listed land-use policy applicable to its jurisdiction: whether the recipient adopted the policy in the prior five years, its plan to adopt and implement the policy, and how adoption would benefit the jurisdiction. Listed reforms include by-right multifamily zoning, duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, manufactured homes in single-family zones, multifamily in commercial and light manufacturing zones, single-room occupancy, smaller lots, historic preservation coordination, higher floor area ratios, transit-oriented development, permitting streamlining, parking reform, impact and utility fee alignment, off-site construction, smaller unit minimums, office-to-apartment conversion, subdivision of single-family homes, accessory dwelling units, density bonuses, height-limit relaxation, property tax abatements, vacant land donation, and other high-density zoning policies chosen by the recipient. Submissions are nonbinding, not HUD endorsement or approval, and cannot be used as an enforcement basis. The requirement takes effect one year after enactment and applies to covered grants before, on, and after that date.

Who Benefits and How

Housing developers benefit from public reporting on zoning, permitting, parking, density, and office-conversion barriers. CDBG recipients pursuing housing reform benefit from a standardized way to document adopted and planned land-use changes. Renters in housing-short communities benefit if jurisdictions use the plan to identify reforms that expand supply. HUD housing supply staff benefit from consistent land-use policy data across grant recipients.

Who Bears the Burden and How

CDBG recipients must prepare and submit land-use policy descriptions at least once every five years. HUD must prescribe standardized forms and maintain staffing to administer the reporting requirement. Local zoning officials must describe adoption status, implementation plans, and expected jurisdiction benefits for listed policies. Jurisdictions with restrictive land-use rules face public scrutiny even though the submissions are nonbinding and non-enforcement.

Key Provisions

• Requires CDBG recipients to submit a land-use policy plan before receiving covered section 106 grants.
• Requires reporting at least once every five years in a standardized HUD form.
• Directs recipients to address listed reforms such as by-right multifamily zoning, ADUs, parking reform, density bonuses, office conversion, and permitting streamlining.
• Provides that submissions are nonbinding, not HUD approval or endorsement, and not an enforcement basis.
• Applies the requirement one year after enactment to recipients before, on, and after that date.