H.R. 10053: Public Service Homeownership Assistance Act

This bill would create a new federal homebuying assistance program for certain public employees, administered by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), starting January 1, 2027, if Congress provides funding for it.

What the program would do

• HUD could make loans to covered public employees, meaning people who work for federal, state, Tribal, or local government agencies or departments.
• The loans would be secured by the home being purchased.
• The HUD lien would be secondary to the homeowner’s first mortgage, meaning the main mortgage lender would be paid first if there were a foreclosure or sale.
• Each loan would have to be between $10,000 and $20,000.
• The money could be used only for a home’s down payment or closing costs.

Who could use it and for what kind of home

• The home would have to be a residential property with 1 to 4 dwelling units.
• The property would need to meet any standards set by HUD.
• It would have to be located in the United States or a U.S. territory.
• The employee would have to move into the home within 60 days after the loan is issued.
• The employee would have to live in the home for at least 182 days each year.

Repayment rules

• The loan would be repaid over 10 years.
• Repayment would start when the earliest of these happens:
  • the employee sells or transfers the home,
  • the employee fails to live in the home for at least 182 days in a year, or
  • the employee does a cash-out refinance of the first mortgage on the home.
• A cash-out refinance here means replacing the first mortgage and taking extra cash out of the new loan.

Other provisions

• Using this loan would not prevent the employee from also using other federal or state housing assistance programs.
• The bill does not itself provide funding; the program would only operate if Congress later makes money available for it.

Relevant Companies

None found