H.R. 9540: Community Housing Act of 2026

This bill would make a broad set of changes aimed at increasing the supply of affordable housing, helping lower-income households keep or obtain housing, and updating federal housing programs.

Affordable Housing Development and Financing

The bill would provide new funding and financing tools for affordable housing, including low-cost loans and other federal support to help build, preserve, and operate housing that people with limited incomes can afford. It would also modernize and expand certain tax incentives used for historic rehabilitation projects, which can help finance housing redevelopment.

Shared-Equity Homeownership and Rental Support

The bill would support shared-equity homeownership models, where buyers can purchase a home at a lower upfront cost in exchange for limits on how much profit they can make when they later sell. It would also strengthen eviction-related protections and assistance programs intended to help renters stay housed or move into other housing if they are displaced.

Zoning and Land Use Changes

The legislation would create a HUD office focused on zoning and land-use reform. This office would work on policies intended to reduce local barriers that can make it harder to build housing, such as restrictive zoning rules. The bill also repeals the Faircloth limit, which currently restricts the number of public housing units that can be added beyond a federal baseline.

Rural Housing Provisions

A large part of the bill deals with rural housing. It would allow restructuring of certain loans to help keep affordable rural housing projects financially stable. It would also permit 20-year renewals of rental assistance contracts for some rural housing properties so that they can continue serving low-income tenants. The bill adds restrictive-use agreements, tenant assistance transfers, technical assistance, and additional funding to help preserve these properties. It also appropriates $200 million per year for rural rental housing loans.

Interagency Task Force on Housing and Substance Use

The bill would create a joint HUD-HHS task force to examine the connection between affordable housing and substance-use treatment. The task force would focus on ways to coordinate housing policy with treatment and support services for people who need both.

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