National Housing Emergency Act of 2026

The National Housing Emergency Act of 2026 requires the President to declare a national housing emergency and use the Defense Production Act to boost residential housing production. It also removes certain federal regulations, sets minimum building codes, and ties federal block grants to local housing growth.

Sec. 2, Sense of Congress: Congress believes the President should declare a national housing emergency under the National Emergencies Act and use the Defense Production Act to increase U.S.-made materials for housing construction and rehabilitation.

Sec. 3, Findings: Congress finds a severe housing shortage, with at least 4 million units needed, rising home prices, declining first-time homebuyers, and regulatory costs adding about 25% to new home prices. Closing the shortfall could create nearly 2 million jobs and add $2 trillion to GDP by 2035.

Sec. 4, Expansion of Defense Production Act: The Defense Production Act is amended to include residential construction and rehabilitation alongside domestic energy and to add "housing" to the list of programs for military.

Sec. 5, Removing Regulatory Barriers: During the emergency, several federal housing regulations are suspended, including certain environmental reviews, duplication-of-benefits rules, and waiver timelines for the Build America, Buy America Act are shortened to 30 days.

Sec. 6, Minimum Residential Code Standard: Housing built or rehabilitated during the emergency must meet the 2009 International Residential Code (or equivalent) for site-built homes or federal standards for manufactured housing.

Sec. 7, Pro-Growth Requirement: Within 30 days, HUD and DOT must create a "Pro-Growth Requirement" for states and local governments to receive federal block grants. Compliance requires positive housing growth, removal of barriers like minimum lot sizes or parking rules, and clear housing growth objectives in their plans. An appeal process is allowed.

Sec. 8, Prohibition: No state or local government may impose land-use regulations that substantially burden residential housing construction or rehabilitation during the emergency.

Sec. 9, Termination: The emergency ends when 4 million additional housing units are built or rehabilitated, or by October 1, 2031, whichever comes first.