H.R. 10316: National Housing Emergency Act of 2026

This bill would require the President to declare a national housing emergency and use emergency authorities under the Defense Production Act to try to increase the supply of housing and housing-related materials.

What it would do

• It states that Congress believes the country should treat the housing shortage as a national emergency.
• It encourages the President to use the Defense Production Act to boost the production of materials made in the United States that are used to build or repair homes.
• It amends the Defense Production Act so housing construction and rehabilitation are included among the areas that can be supported under that law.

Changes to housing rules during the emergency

While the emergency is in effect, the bill would suspend or limit several federal housing-related rules and reviews, including:

• certain provisions of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act;
• a housing-development-related provision of the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act;
• federal environmental review requirements for HUD-funded housing preservation or infill projects;
• multiple separate environmental reviews for a housing project that uses more than one federal program, replacing them with one review;
• some limits on “choice-limiting actions” for HUD-funded housing projects;
• rules that bar duplication of benefits for certain disaster recovery housing projects; and
• a faster process for waiving some Build America, Buy America requirements, with a 30-day deadline and automatic issuance if the review is not completed in time.

Minimum building standards

The bill says housing built or rehabilitated during the emergency would still need to meet certain minimum codes:

• for site-built housing, the 2009 International Residential Code, or an equivalent code adopted by state, local, tribal, or territorial governments; and
• for manufactured housing, the standards in federal manufactured housing regulations.

Conditions on federal funding

Within 30 days, HUD and the Department of Transportation would have to create a “Pro-Growth Requirement” that states and local governments would need to meet to receive certain federal block grants during the emergency.

To qualify, a jurisdiction would need to show:

• positive housing growth compared with the previous year;
• steps taken to remove barriers to housing development, such as:
  • smaller minimum lot sizes,
  • allowing manufactured homes in single-family areas,
  • reducing parking requirements,
  • allowing duplexes, triplexes, or fourplexes in single-family zones,
  • density bonuses,
  • allowing single-stair buildings up to five stories,
  • faster permitting,
  • office-to-housing conversions,
  • donating vacant public land for affordable housing,
  • allowing accessory dwelling units on single-family lots,
  • transit-oriented development zones, or
  • property tax abatements for higher-density housing; and
• housing growth goals in its consolidated housing plan.

There would also be an appeal process for jurisdictions that can show measurable steps to increase housing supply.

Limits on local land-use rules

While the emergency is in effect, states and local governments would be prohibited from applying land-use rules in a way that places a substantial burden on the construction or rehabilitation of residential housing.

When the emergency ends

The emergency would end when either:

• 4,000,000 additional residential housing units have been built or rehabilitated compared with the date the bill becomes law; or
• October 1, 2031, whichever happens first.

Relevant Companies

• None found