42 U.S.C. § 19504 — Grants for planning and implementation associated with affordable housing
submitted this year by Pub. L. 119-101 to r/title-42-THE-PUBLIC-HEALTH-AND-WELFARE · 625 words · no verdicts yet
This law creates competitive HUD grants for planning and carrying out affordable housing work. The grants cannot pay for construction, alteration, or repair work. States, insular areas, cities, counties, and regional planning agencies can use the money for planning, zoning, and housing-strategy work.
(a) Definitions
"Eligible entity" means a state*, insular area, metropolitan city, or urban county (as defined elsewhere in this title), or a regional planning agency or group of regional planning agencies. "Housing plan" means a plan for an area to: increase available housing to meet current and future demand; make housing more affordable; make housing more accessible for people with disabilities, including “location-efficient housing.” This section does not define “location-efficient housing”; keep up or improve housing quality; reduce barriers to building housing; and coordinate with transportation agencies. "Housing strategy" means the housing strategy already required under a separate section of this title. "Secretary" means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
(b) Establishment
Within 1 year after July 11, 2026, the Secretary must start a competitive grant program to help eligible entities plan and carry out affordable-housing work. The grant money cannot pay for construction, alteration, or repair work.
(c) Use of amounts
(1) Regional planning agencies must use their grant money for planning activities, including: writing housing plans; substantially improving state or local housing strategies; writing new regulations and processes; updating zoning codes; building capacity to inspect housing; building capacity to remove barriers to housing supply and affordability; writing local or regional community-development plans; and substantially improving community-development strategies aimed at more available and affordable housing, better access to public transit, and sustainable, location-efficient development.
(2) States, insular areas, metropolitan cities, and urban counties must use their money to: carry out housing strategies and plans; carry out plans that widen housing choice, address gaps in housing needs, and expand access to opportunity; fund community investments supporting those strategies and plans; carry out reformed zoning rules; build capacity to inspect housing; build capacity to remove barriers to housing supply and affordability; carry out local or regional community-development plans; and fund planning to increase the availability of affordable housing and access to affordable housing, access to public transportation, and any “location-efficient community development goals.” This section does not define “location-efficient community development goals”.
(3) No eligible entity may spend more than 10 percent of its grant money on administrative costs.
(d) Coordination
As much as practical, the Secretary must coordinate with the Federal Transit Administration in running this program.
(e) Expiration of authority
The Secretary cannot newly start this program after the 5-year period beginning on July 11, 2026, has ended.
(f) Sunset
The whole program ends 5 years after July 11, 2026.
In this section:
The term “eligible entity” means—
a State*, insular area, metropolitan city, or urban county, as those terms are defined in section 5302 of this title; or
a regional planning agency or consortia of regional planning agencies.
The term “housing plan” means a plan to, with respect to an area within the jurisdiction of an eligible entity—
increase the amount of available housing to meet the demand for such housing and any projected increase in the demand for such housing;
increase the affordability of housing;
increase the accessibility of housing for people with disabilities, including location-efficient housing;
preserve or improve the quality of housing;
reduce barriers to housing development; and
coordinate with transportation-related agencies.
The term “housing strategy” means a housing strategy required under section 12705 of this title.
The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Not later than 1 year after July 11, 2026, the Secretary shall establish a program to award grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities to assist planning and implementation activities associated with affordable housing, except that such grant awards may not be used for construction, alteration, or repair work.
If an eligible entity that receives amounts under this section is an eligible entity described in subsection (a)(1)(B), the eligible entity shall use those amounts to assist planning activities with respect to affordable housing, including—
the development of housing plans;
the substantial improvement of State or local housing strategies;
the development of new regulatory requirements and processes;
updating zoning codes;
increasing the capacity to conduct housing inspections;
increasing the capacity to reduce barriers to housing supply elasticity and housing affordability;
the development of local or regional plans for community development; and
the substantial improvement of community development strategies, including strategies designed to—
increase the availability of affordable housing and access to affordable housing;
increase access to public transportation; and
advance sustainable or location-efficient community development goals.
If an eligible entity that receives amounts under this section is an eligible entity described in subsection (a)(1)(A), the eligible entity shall use those amounts to—
implement and administer housing strategies and housing plans;
implement and administer any plans to increase housing choice, address disparities in housing needs, and provide greater access to opportunity;
fund any community investments that support goals identified in a housing strategy or housing plan;
implement and administer regulatory requirements and processes with respect to reformed zoning codes;
increase the capacity to conduct housing inspections;
increase the capacity to reduce barriers to housing supply elasticity and housing affordability;
implement and administer local or regional plans for community development; and
fund any planning to increase—
the availability of affordable housing and access to affordable housing;
access to public transportation; and
any location-efficient community development goals.
A eligible entity that receives amounts under this section may not use more than 10 percent of those amounts for administrative costs.
To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall coordinate with the Administrator* of the Federal Transit Administration in carrying out this section.
After the expiration of the 5-year period beginning on July 11, 2026, the Secretary may not newly establish a program as described in this section.
The program established under this section shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after July 11, 2026.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 119–101, title II, § 207, July 11, 2026, 140 Stat. 873.)
- 2026Enacted · Pub. L. 119-101 · 140 Stat. 873
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 119-101 on 2026-07-11.
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