The ROAD to Housing Act
The biggest challenge regarding affordable housing is that someone else must bear the cost of the discounts that the landlords offer to tenants and that real estate developers offer to homebuyers, and there are only so many resources to go around. Tax incentives by local governments offset the costs, but only enough for developers to provide a few units at a rate accessible to consumers who earn approximately the area median income. There simply are not enough resources to go around. Tenants wait for years for affordable housing units to open up. As for affordable homeownership programs, by the time the houses are ready for sale, the buyers have experienced so many financial hardships that they cannot afford them, not even at the discounted price. These problems are not new; housing has always been expensive, and real estate developers have always faced financial obstacles to the completion of their projects. The trouble with affordable housing these days is that nothing is affordable; people are struggling so much to afford groceries that they do not even have time to think about whether they will be able to pay their rent this month, much less to look for a more affordable unit to move into. A new law aims to increase the supply of affordable housing by introducing several new policies. To find out more about building units in high demand areas to alleviate the housing shortage, contact a Washington, D.C. real estate lawyer.
Bipartisan Housing Bill Could Make Construction of Affordable Housing Less Costly for Developers
The Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream (ROAD) to Housing Act is the first bipartisan bill in decades to focus on addressing the nation’s shortage of affordable housing. Its main sponsors include Sen. Tim Scott R-SC and Sen. Elizabeth Warren D-MA, both of whom have been outspoken about the need for more affordable housing, even though their parties tend to differ about the best solutions to the problem.
The ROAD Act aims to provide financial relief both to the companies that build homes and to the people who live there. For example, it will allow developers to build manufactured homes without a permanent chassis, making them less expensive to build, and therefore less expensive to buy; the manufactured homes destined to become rental units will also be more affordable for tenants if they are built under the new system.
Another provision of the bill is a new form of relief for USDA mortgage holders. Homeowners who financed their home purchases will be able to lower their monthly payments by extending the term of the mortgage loan. This option was previously unavailable for USDA mortgages. The ROAD Act will probably be of more benefit in rural areas than in densely populated parts of the D.C. metropolitan area.
Contact Tobin O’Connor Concino P.C. About Addressing the Housing Shortage
A Washington, D.C. real estate attorney can help you find ways to enter the real estate market with the resources you have and in compliance with current laws. Contact Tobin O’Connor Concino P.C. in Washington, D.C. or call 202-362-5900.
Source:
cnbc.com/2025/08/01/what-to-know-about-the-senate-affordable-housing-bill.html
