HR6132-119

What This Bill Does

The Housing Affordability Act updates multifamily loan limits under title II of the National Housing Act. It restarts annual adjustment of covered dollar amounts beginning January 1, 2026 and requires HUD to calculate adjustments using the percentage change in the Census Bureau Price Deflator Index of Multifamily Residential Units Under Construction from March of the previous year to March of the adjustment year. HUD must publish adjustments in the Federal Register and round adjusted dollar amounts down to the next lower dollar. The bill also replaces many older statutory dollar limits across FHA multifamily insurance authorities, including sections 207, 213, 220, 221(d)(4), 231, and 234, with substantially higher per-unit amounts such as $167,310, $185,328, $221,364, $272,844, and higher figures depending on bedroom count and program. The practical effect is to increase the maximum mortgage amounts FHA can insure for multifamily housing projects and cooperatives, aligning limits with construction-cost inflation.

Who Benefits and How

Multifamily housing developers benefit from higher FHA-insured loan limits for rental, cooperative, and related housing projects. Affordable housing borrowers benefit if higher limits make FHA financing usable for projects with modern construction costs. FHA multifamily lenders benefit from larger eligible insured mortgage amounts. Renters may benefit indirectly if more multifamily projects can obtain financing and add or preserve housing supply. HUD multifamily program users benefit from annual index adjustments tied to construction cost changes.

Who Bears the Burden and How

HUD multifamily insurance staff must update program limits, publish Federal Register adjustments, and apply annual index calculations. FHA insurance funds may face larger insured loan exposures when higher limits support larger mortgages. Lenders and borrowers must update underwriting models and documentation for the new statutory limits. Federal housing oversight staff must monitor risk as insured multifamily loan sizes increase.

Key Provisions

• Raises FHA multifamily loan limits across multiple National Housing Act insurance programs.
• Restarts annual adjustment of covered dollar amounts on January 1, 2026.
• Requires adjustments using the Census Bureau multifamily construction price deflator.
• Requires Federal Register publication of adjusted dollar amounts.
• Requires adjusted amounts to be rounded down to the next lower dollar.