Bipartisan bill would limit homeownership by large institutional investors, help build more homes
Legislation builds on four Hickenlooper-backed priorities to protect Americans’ homeownership from corporations, support housing loans for veterans, boost manufactured housing
Builds on half a billion in federal funding Hickenlooper, Colorado delegation unlocked for Colorado
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper voted to pass the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which is the most consequential housing legislation in decades. The bipartisan legislation would help address the national affordable housing shortage by cutting red tape to build more homes, investing in programs to lower the cost of buying a house, and preventing corporations from dominating the housing market.
Hickenlooper fought to include three provisions that he co-sponsors – American Homeownership Act, VA Home Loan Awareness Act, VALID Act, and PRICE Act – to expand housing loan support to veterans and boost manufactured housing.
“Housing shouldn’t be out of reach for working Americans. People are holding down two or three jobs and still can’t afford their rent or to buy a home,” said Hickenlooper. “We need to kick our efforts into overdrive. Let’s build more homes, expand loan support to veterans, and ultimately lower the cost of housing for millions of families.”
Hickenlooper had helped advance the legislation out of the Senate in October as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). However, the bill was not included in the final NDAA signed into law.
Specifically, the legislation would:
- Protect homeownership for Americans, not corporations
- Builds off of the Hickenlooper-backed American Homeownership Act to restrict large institutional investors from purchasing, directly or indirectly, more than 350 single family homes and undermining the housing supply for working Americans
- Expand housing supply:
- Cut federal red tape to encourage new construction
- Direct the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) to develop best practices for zoning and provide grants to help communities create pre-approved architectural designs, known as pattern books, to speed up local permitting
- Offer incentives to build housing near public transit, give priority to projects in Opportunity Zones (OZ), and create a pilot program to convert vacant and abandoned buildings into attainable housing
- Establish the “Whole-Home Repairs Act” pilot to offer grants and forgivable loans to low- and moderate-income homeowners and small landlords to fix health hazards and preserve aging homes
- Expand access to capital and homeownership
- Attract private capital to underserved neighborhoods by increasing Public Welfare Investment (PWI) caps and prioritizing Opportunity Zone incentives
- Direct the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to evaluate and adjust compensation rules and fee caps to encourage lenders to offer small-dollar mortgages
- Increase accountability by allowing HUD to mandate training for, or revoke the certification of, underperforming housing counselors
- Boost manufactured and modular housing to bring down prices
- Broaden the federal definition of manufactured housing to include modular and prefabricated units that are not built on a permanent chassis
- Adopt the Hickenlooper-backed Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Communities (PRICE) Act, which would permanently provide grants to stabilize and protect existing manufactured housing communities
- Direct the FHA to assess barriers to financing modular homes and modernize mortgage lending standards for manufactured housing
- Support veterans and underserved communities
- Adopt Hickenlooper-backed VA Home Loan Awareness Act, which would help veterans better understand and access loan support
- Adopt Hickenlooper-backed VA Loan Informed Decision (VALID) Act, which would require the FHA mortgage notice to include comparative rate and fee information about loans available under the Department of Veterans Affairs home loan program to make sure qualified veterans receive loans
- Permanently authorize the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program and create a new Office of Disaster Management and Resiliency within HUD
- Improve federal coordination and oversight
- Force HUD and the USDA to coordinate on joint environmental reviews for rural housing projects
- Require the heads of HUD, FHA, Ginnie Mae, USDA, FHFA, and the VA to testify annually before Congress
- Establish a new Office of the Inspector General for NeighborWorks
Full text of the bill available HERE.
The bipartisan bill has broad support from consumer housing groups, real estate industry groups, and local officials including the US Conference of Mayors.
HICKENLOOPER, DELEGATION UNLOCK HALF A BILLION FOR HOUSING
Hickenlooper has long fought to expand affordable housing. In 2021, he worked with the Colorado delegation to deliver more than $3.8 billion in American Rescue Plan funding for the state, which included more than $500 million towards affordable housing investments and $300 million in emergency rental assistance for low-income households.
Since being elected, Hickenlooper has also fought and secured more than $62 million for 37 specific Colorado projects that help address the housing crisis.
A list of the housing focused projects that Hickenlooper secured funding for is listed below and HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.
| Location | Name of Project | Requester | Funded Amount |
| Alamosa | San Luis Valley Health Workforce Housing | Lutheran Hospital Association of the San Luis Valley DBA San Luis Valley Health | $2,000,000 |
| Boulder | Affordable Housing Modular Factory | City of Boulder Department of Housing & Human Services | $506,000 |
| Boulder | Housing and Services Hub for Youth Experiencing Homelessness | TGTHR Boulder | $2,000,000 |
| Carbondale | Carbondale Affordable Housing | Town of Carbondale | $2,000,000 |
| Colorado Springs | Colorado Springs Affordable Housing for Teachers | We Fortify | $1,000,000 |
| Cortez | Puwagaan Kaan Supportive Housing | The Pinon Project | $621,000 |
| Denver | Renaissance at Civic Center Apartments | The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless | $5,000,000 |
| Denver | Shelter for People Experiencing Homelessness | City and County of Denver | $2,000,000 |
| Denver | Housing for Youth Experiencing Homelessness | Urban Peak | $3,078,000 |
| Denver | 3rd and Knox Affordable Housing Project | Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver, Inc. | $750,000 |
| Denver | Archway Communities Park Hill Campus Rehabilitation | Archway Housing & Services | $3,000,000 |
| Denver | Denver Sheriff Department Housing Navigation Program | City and County of Denver | $750,000 |
| Denver | Mile High United Way United for Families Initiatives | Mile High United Way | $1,500,000 |
| Denver | Montbello FreshLo Hub Project | Montbello Organizing Committee | $1,455,000 |
| Durango | La Plata County Bridge Housing | Community Investment Alliance | $800,000 |
| Durango | Southwest Housing Solutions | Southwest Colorado Education Collaborative | $1,000,000 |
| Durango | Durango Hotel Conversion Affordable Housing Project | City of Durango | $3,000,000 |
| Eagle | Housing Energy Independence Project | Eagle County Government | $585,000 |
| Fort Collins | Fort Collins Affordable Housing Preservation | Neighbor to Neighbor | $1,000,000 |
| Fraser | St. Louis Landing Community Housing and Early Childhood Education Center | Town of Fraser | $2,000,000 |
| Grand Junction | Land Acquisition, land banking, and affordable housing development | Grand Junction Housing Authority | $1,400,000 |
| Greeley | High Impact Innovative Affordable Housing | Greeley-Weld Habitat for Humanity | $2,557,000 |
| Ignacio | Rock Creek Affordable Housing & Associated Infrastructure | Southern Ute Indian Tribe | $3,000,000 |
| Leadville | Lake County Community Housing | Leadville Lake County Regional Housing Authority | $850,000 |
| Littleton | Arapahoe County Supportive Housing Project | Arapahoe County | $1,000,000 |
| Naturita | West End Housing & Blight Remediation Project | West End Economic Development Corporation | $900,000 |
| Pueblo | Pikes Peak Park Affordable Homeownership Project | NeighborWorks Southern Colorado | $3,743,000 |
| Rifle | Wapiti Commons Affordable Homeownership Development | Habitat for Humanity Roaring Fork Valley | $1,200,000 |
| Salida | Jane’s Place Multi-family Affordable Housing Solar Arrays | Chaffee County Government | $300,000 |
| Steamboat Springs | Childcare and Workforce Housing Site Work Project | City of Steamboat Springs | $1,300,000 |
| Steamboat Springs | Steamboat Springs Workforce Housing Pedestrian and Bicycle Connection Project | City of Steamboat Springs | $1,000,000 |
| Telluride | Ouray County Affordable Housing Neighborhood | Paradox Community Trust | $1,462,000 |
| Towaoc | Moguan Aftercare Housing Facility | Ute Mountain Ute Tribe | $2,000,000 |
| Towaoc | Ute Mountain Ute Multi-Family Housing Development | Ute Mountain Ute Tribe | $2,500,000 |
| Towaoc | UMU Housing Improvement Project | Ute Mountain Ute Tribe | $2,000,000 |
| Vail | Vail Valley Affordable Home Ownership Development | Habitat for Humanity Vail Valley | $1,500,000 |
| Wheat Ridge | Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing Program – Wheat Ridge | City of Wheat Ridge | $2,000,000 |
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