The Housing Assistance Council is an independent, non-partisan and regularly responds to Congressional committees, Member offices, federal agencies, and policy advocacy coalitions with the research and information needed to make informed policy decisions. Our research work, Rural Data Portal, and Veterans Data Central all provide valuable, educational context to frame the rural policy conversation. If you want to know how a new program or policy could impact America’s small towns and rural places, please don’t hesitate to contact us at policy@ruralhome.org.

HAC CEO Responds to FY 2027 Budget Proposal

On Friday, April 3rd, the White House released its full Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Budget Proposal. While there are a few improvements over FY 2026 for housing affordability programs, the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) is gravely concerned about the number of programs that are slated for underfunding or elimination.

“The FY 2027 budget includes positive steps, such as restored support for USDA’s Section 502 Direct program,” said David Lipsetz, President & CEO of the Housing Assistance Council. “We welcome support for low-income homeownership during an affordability crisis. However, the proposal falls short of what is needed by failing to preserve the nation’s aging stock of rural rental housing and eliminating proven initiatives.”

At the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), funding for both USDA’s Section 515 Rural Rental Housing and its Multifamily Preservation and Revitalization programs would remain at FY 2026 levels, but the budget fails to provide returns on investment or asset management fees for nonprofit and public agency owners.  Additionally, although the budget continues to support Stand‑Alone Rental Assistance to protect tenants when USDA mortgages mature, it proposes eliminating Section 542 vouchers without clearly addressing the impact on current households currently in the voucher program.

If enacted, the Administration’s budget proposal would be particularly damaging to people experiencing homelessness and unaffordable housing by eliminating a number of Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs that have a proven track record when it comes to serving Americans. The proposal eliminates the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), the Continuum of Care Program, the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) Program, Native American programs and Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grants, and fair housing activities.

HAC commends the Administration’s focus on rural-serving Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) in its Treasury Department funding proposal. But our organization recognizes we live in a deeply interconnected nation. We have argued that if rural areas are left behind, the whole nation suffers. The opposite is true also; thus we cannot condone the Administration’s dramatic funding reduction and consolidation of the current CDFI grant programs into a single Rural Community Development Fund.

Perhaps most concerning, the proposal severely cuts funding for capacity building and technical assistance for rural communities. More than anywhere in America, small towns and rural places can struggle to maintain the expertise needed to succeed in the complex world of housing and community development. The budget calls for eliminating Rural Capacity Building at HUD and both the Rural Community Development Initiative and Preservation Technical Assistance at USDA. Such cuts to technical assistance and capacity building programs will prevent community organizations from getting new housing projects off the ground, while also limiting the critical resources they need to complete ongoing projects.

HAC urges Congress to strengthen the FY 2027 budget by restoring technical assistance for rural housing preservation, ensuring rental assistance transitions do not leave tenants behind, fully funding all programs at HUD, and providing nonprofit owners with the tools they need to sustain affordable housing over the long term. In addition, HAC also urges Congress to continue the efforts begun in the Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations bill by specifically adding language to compel the Administration to spend appropriated funding. Read HAC’s full analysis of the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget proposal for USDA and for HUD.

USDA’s Rural Housing Budget Supports Most Programs

April 3, 2026 – The administration’s budget request for fiscal year 2027 was released on April 3. The proposals for USDA’s rural housing programs are slightly better than those in the FY26 budget.

Join HAC on April 8 at 2:00 pm Eastern time to learn more about the budget. In this webinar, HAC policy staff will cover what the budget includes for rural housing programs at USDA, HUD, and the CDFI Fund, and what the rest of the funding process will look like. Register here.

— Information about FY27 funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development is available here. —

Homeownership

Last year USDA proposed to defund the Section 502 direct program but this year it suggests a $983 million program level. USDA estimates this amount will finance 5,355 homes.

The budget would eliminate the $5 million relending program that enables Native Community Development Financial Institutions to provide mortgages for Native American homebuyers.

The budget would change the current mortgage requirement for homeowners obtaining Section 504 repair loans. It would allow loans of up to $15,000 – rather than the current $7,500 – to be secured by a promissory note rather than a mortgage.

The administration would continue to support local organizations administering self-help programs under Section 523, despite its recent defunding of technical assistance providers to help them.

Rental Housing

The budget includes support for some of the elements of USDA’s rental preservation work, proposing to hold the Section 515 and Multifamily Preservation and Revitalization (MPR) programs at their FY26 levels. It would not, however, provide returns on investment or asset management fees for nonprofit and public agency owners. And it would not fund technical assistance to help nonprofits and public agencies purchase properties in need of preservation; USDA explains that it expects carryover funding from prior years to be sufficient to satisfy the demand.

The budget again supports decoupling Section 521 Rental Assistance from Section 515 and Section 514 mortgages, allowing tenants in rental properties where USDA mortgages are ending to continue to receive Rental Assistance. There would be no limit on the number of these Stand-Alone Rental Assistance (SARA) units.

Relying on SARA to cover tenants, the budget would eliminate funding for Section 542 vouchers. As it did last year, it makes no provisions for renters currently relying on these vouchers, explaining without details that “between the set of current recipients whose income would not allow them to re-qualify, the value of the voucher diminishing over time, and natural attrition from the program, very few of the current recipients will be affected. For the remaining few, options would include vacancies at other USDA properties with rental assistance, applying for HUD funded housing assistance or other similar programs at the state and local level.”

Other Information

USDA’s document explaining its Rural Development budget to Congress provides some additional information:

  • the department’s request includes funding for a contract with a consultant to help implement the Build America, Buy America Act;
  • a breakdown of staffing by state shows that Rural Development had the equivalent of 4,409 full-time staff in FY24 and 4,452 in FY25, and is expected to have 3,057 in both FY26 and FY27. It does not indicate whether the figures are calculated at the beginning of the fiscal year or at the end.

The Rural Housing Service budget explanation includes information about how the housing programs’ funds were used in FY24 and FY25.

Next Steps

This budget represents the first step in a lengthier process to set appropriations for FY27. Both the House and the Senate will develop their own appropriations bills, which may or may not resemble the President’s proposal. The House and Senate should resolve any differences between their bills and send final versions to the President for signature by September 30. If they do not meet that deadline, a continuing resolution would be needed to keep the government running.

For ongoing news on appropriations and other topics related to rural housing, subscribe to HAC emails, which include the free biweekly HAC News.

Table: USDA Rural Housing Service Funding Levels

Program

($ in millions)

FY26 Final

FY27 Budget

FY27 House*

FY27 Senate*

 FY27 Final*

502 SF Direct Loans

$1,000

$983.2

     Nat. Amer. SF Demo

5

0

502 SF Guar. Loans

25,000

20,000

504 VLI Repair Loans

25

25

504 VLI Repair Grants

21

20

515 MF Direct Loans

50

50

514 Farm Labor Hsg. Loans

15

15

516 Farm Labor Hsg. Grants

6

6

521 Rental Asst.

1,715

1,795

523 Self-Help TA

25

25

533 Hsg. Prsrv. Grants

6

6

538 MF Guar. Loans

400

500

542 Vouchers

48

0

Rental Prsrv. Demo (MPR)

30

30

Rental Prsrv. TA

2

0

Rural Cmty. Dev’t Init.

5

0

Cmty. Facil. Direct Loans

1,250

1,250

Cmty. Facil. Grants**

13

0

Tribal Colleges CF Grants

8

0

Cmty. Facil. Guar.

650

650

*These columns will be filled in as the appropriations process moves forward.

 

Abbreviations key

  • NA: Not Available
  • MF: Multifamily (Rental)
  • SF: Single-Family (Homeownership)
  • TA: Technical Assistance
  • VLI: Very Low-Income

 

HUD Budget Would Eliminate Several Programs, Cut Others

April 3, 2026 – As it did last year, the administration proposes to eliminate the HOME and Community Development Block Grant programs at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Its budget request for fiscal year 2027, released on April 3, would also cut funding for Native American and Native Hawaiian housing, defund capacity building programs including the Rural Capacity Building program, earmark all Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity funds to Habitat for Humanity, and completely revamp the federal approach to aiding people experiencing homelessness.

Join HAC on April 8 at 2:00 pm Eastern time to learn more about the budget. In this webinar, HAC policy staff will cover what the budget includes for rural housing programs at USDA, HUD, and the CDFI Fund, and what the rest of the funding process will look like. Register here.

— Information about FY27 funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s rural housing programs is available here. —

Consistent with changes the administration has proposed for the FY24-26 Continuum of Care program, which have been challenged in court, the budget would direct its entire $4.02 billion in homeless funding to the Emergency Solutions Grants program and none to Continuums of Care. ESG funds, $290 million in FY26, are distributed to state and local governments. The budget proposes language to prioritize this ESG spending on transitional housing, to allow preferences for elderly people or those with disabilities, and to give HUD special flexibility in administering the program.

Native American housing funds would be reduced by one-third. Fair housing would also see a large cut: the Fair Housing Assistance Program, which funds state fair housing activities, would receive $26 million, slightly below its $26.4 million level in FY26. No funding would be provided for the Fair Housing Initiative Program, fair housing training, or assistance for people with limited English proficiency.

Public housing agencies would be required to impose work requirements for most people receiving rental assistance, and households would be limited to five years of aid.

A new $30 million program would combat fraud, waste, and abuse in federally assisted housing.

Next Steps

This budget represents the first step in a lengthier process to set appropriations for FY27. Both the House and the Senate will develop their own appropriations bills, which may or may not resemble the President’s proposal. The House and Senate should resolve any differences between their bills and send final versions to the President for signature by September 30. If they do not meet that deadline, a continuing resolution would be needed to keep the government running.

For ongoing news on appropriations and other topics related to rural housing, subscribe to HAC emails, which include the free biweekly HAC News.

Table: HUD Funding Levels

Program ($ in millions)

FY26 Final

FY27 Budget

FY27 House*

FY27 Senate*

FY27 Final*

CDBG

$3,300

0

HOME

1,250

0

PRICE Manuf. Hsg. Prsrv.

0

0

Self-Help Hmownrshp (SHOP)

12

16**

Veterans Home Rehab

0

0

Rural Cap’y Bldg (RCB)

7

0

Tenant-Based Rental Asst.

38,439

38,846

   VASH

15

0

Project-Based Rental Asst.

18,143

17,640

Public Hsg. Capital Fund

3,200

3,200

Public Hsg. Operating Fund

5,024

5,377

202 Hsg. for Elderly

1,031

959

811 Hsg. for Disabled

287

266

Native Amer. Hsg.

1,354

887

Native Hawaiian

22.3

0

Tribal VASH

10

10

Homeless Asst. Grants total

4,417

4,024

   Emergency Solutions Grants

290

4,024

  Continuum of Care

4,010

0

      Permanent Supportive Housing

52

0

Hsg. Oppties for Persons w/ AIDS (HOPWA)

529

0

Fair Hsg.

86.4

26

Healthy Homes & Lead Control

296

110

Hsg. Counseling

57.5

0

* These columns will be filled in as the appropriations process moves forward.

**The budget proposes $16 million to be earmarked for Habitat for Humanity’s SHOP and Section 4 technical assistance activities. Other SHOP grantees such as HAC would receive no funding.

 

PRT, HAC, HOPE Release Opportunity Zone 2.0 Recommendations

The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) in collaboration with Partners for Rural Transformation (PRT) and Hope Credit Union/Hope Enterprise Corporation/Hope Policy Institute (HOPE) Wednesday released recommendations for the Opportunity Zone 2.0 designations to drive investments into rural communities facing persistent poverty.

PRT President Farah Ahmad said: “Opportunity Zones hold tremendous potential to drive investment into rural communities facing persistent poverty across the country – if they are done correctly. This guide offers a framework for state policymakers and local practitioners to ensure that this once-in-a-decade opportunity is not missed in the rural communities millions of people call home.”

HAC President and CEO David Lipsetz said: “Investment in persistently poor rural places is an essential step to address our nation’s affordable housing crisis. State officials have an important opening this year to identify the right places for this investment. This guide explains what’s at stake and how they can take action.”

HOPE Senior Advisor for Policy and Advocacy Diane Standaert said: “With this upcoming round of Opportunity Zone selections, states have a once-in-decade chance to get it right for rural places. HOPE’s experience demonstrates how it’s possible to align community-driven solutions, private investors, and public policy to drive transformative change in rural communities, including those experiencing persistent poverty. With advance planning as recommended in this guide, states can ensure they do not overlook solutions for economic opportunity in the rural areas that need it most.”

Created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Opportunity Zones spur economic growth and job creation in low-income communities while providing tax benefits to investors. The first round of Opportunity Zones generated $120 billion in new investments across the country. However, only a fraction of that, about $6 billion, flowed into rural communities by 2022, and even less reached areas experiencing persistent poverty.

The program was amended in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and added new incentives for rural communities, including a 30% step-up in basis points for investments and a 50% threshold for showing substantial improvement to rehabilitation projects. However, an overly broad definition of “rural” risks funding being diverted away from targeted rural and Native communities. For example, Atlantic City meets the definition of a “rural Opportunity Zone” under the OBBBA.

Activating Rural Investments in the Next Round of Opportunity Zones: Recommendations for States  can be found here. The recommendations follow four guidelines:

  • Engage Rural Communities, Native Communities, and Practitioners: Hearing directly from rural communities through organizations like Community Development Financial Institutions and non-profit developers will help state and local leaders designate Opportunity Zones that will have the greatest impact.
  • Create a Map that Targets Unique Rural Needs and Development Goals: Mapping tools can assist state and local leaders in designating rural areas where investment is needed most and illuminate the opportunities to leverage additional investment incentives.
  • Create Priorities in State Funding Programs: States can take a more active role in driving investment into rural communities facing persistent poverty by prioritizing projects within preexisting state programs to attract additional resources and investors.  
  • Create an Assessment Tool: Establishing a clear decision-making rubric can ensure high-impact selections are made in a transparent manner.

PRT, HAC, and HOPE hosted a webinar on the guide for state policymakers, regional development hubs, and local non-profits on March 12. The recording is available here.   

HAC Opposes HUD Proposal to Eliminate Disparate Impact Fair Housing Rules

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has proposed to change its Fair Housing Act regulations. The revisions would eliminate HUD’s rules on disparate impact — the legal concept that conduct is discriminatory if it has inequitable effects, even if there was no intent to discriminate. HAC does not support the proposed change and strongly urges HUD to retain and enforce its current rule. HAC argues that:

  • “Housing affordability and fair housing connect through the principle of ‘disparate impact.’”
  • Rural borrowers more often receive loans with more costly terms and rural residents are disproportionately members of protected classes.
  • Court decisions have not invalidated disparate impact liability.
  • HUD has an explicit statutory responsibility to ensure equal opportunity and freedom from discrimination.
HAC Disparate Impact Comments 2026 Final

HUD Funding Finally Set for FY26

UPDATE, February 4, 2026 – After a brief partial government shutdown over the weekend, on February 3 the House passed the Senate-approved fiscal year 2026 appropriations bill covering several federal agencies, including HUD, and the president signed the measure into law.

UPDATE, January 23, 2026 – On January 22 the House passed the fiscal year 2026 funding bill that covers HUD. The Senate is expected to approve it during the week of January 26. The White House has said President Trump will sign it.

January 22, 2026 – Text has been released for final funding bills that cover most of the agencies operating under a continuing resolution through January 30, including HUD. House and Senate appropriators agreed to keep many HUD programs at the dollar levels they received in FY24 and FY25. Details are shown in the table below. Homeless assistance grants, Section 202 elderly housing, Section 811 housing for persons with disabilities, and housing for persons with AIDS all receive increases. The measure includes enough funding to renew Emergency Housing Vouchers created during the Covid pandemic. In addition, the bill extends the National Flood Insurance Program through September 30, 2026.

— Information about FY26 funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s rural housing programs is available here. —

HOME, Community Development Block Grants, Native American housing, fair housing, and housing counseling are funded at the same levels as in FY25.

The Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP) remains at its recent $12 million level. The Rural Capacity Building program increases from $6 million in FY25 to $7 million this year.

The bill protects Continuum of Care operations while litigation continues regarding program changes HUD proposed. It directs HUD to provide one-year non-competitive renewals of CoC grants that expire in the first quarter of calendar year 2026 and then to continue the same process for each quarter in which it does not make new funding awards.

The bill’s provisions also instruct HUD to change some of its 2025 processes. For example, it requires 60-day comment periods for regulatory proposals.

The House is expected to pass the bill on January 22. The Senate should approve it during the week of January 26. The White House has said President Trump will sign it.

Table: HUD Funding Levels

 

Program ($ in millions) FY23 Final FY24 Final FY25 Final FY26 Budget FY26 House, H.R. 4552 FY26 Senate, S. 2465 FY26 Final, H.R. 7148
CDBG $3,300 $3,300 $3,300 0 $3,300 $3,100 $3,300
HOME 1,500 1,250 1,250 0 0 1,250 1,250
PRICE Manuf. Hsg. Prsrv. 225 10 10 0 0 10 0
Self-Help Hmownrshp (SHOP) 13.5 12 12 0 9 13 12
Veterans Home Rehab 1 0 0 NA 0 0 0
Rural Cap’y Bldg (RCB) 6 6 6 0 5 8 7
Tenant-Based Rental Asst. 27,600 32,387 32,387 0 35,268 37,355 38,439
     VASH 50 15 15 0 15 15 15
Project-Based Rental Asst. 13,938 16,010 16,010 0 17,127 17,804 18,143
Public Hsg. Capital Fund 3,200 3,410 3,410 0 2,286 3,200 3,200
Public Hsg. Operating Fund 5,109 5,501 5,501 0 5,000 5,087 5,024
202 Hsg. for Elderly 1,075 913 913 0 950 972 1,031
811 Hsg. for Disabled 360 208 208 0 262 265 287
State Rental Assistance Program Total for the programs to be combined in the SRAP: 58,429 31,787 NA NA NA
Native Amer. Hsg. 1,020 1,344 1,344 877 1,344 1,354 1,354
Native Hawaiian 22.3 22.3 22.3 18.3 22.3 22.3
Tribal VASH 7.5 7.5 7.5 10 10 10 10
Homeless Asst. Grants 3,633 4,051 4,051 4,024 4,158 4,530 4,417
Hsg. Oppties for Persons w/ AIDS (HOPWA) 499 505 505 505 529 529
Fair Hsg. 86 86.4 86.4 26.4 28.5 86.4 86.4
Healthy Homes & Lead Control 410 345 345 0 296 296 296
Hsg. Counseling 57.5 57.5 57.5 0 0 57.5 57.5

NA: Not Available

HUD Funding Bills Approved by Committees in House and Senate

August 1, 2025: The Appropriations Committees in both houses of Congress have passed fiscal year 2026 funding bills for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (combined with funding for the Department of Transportation). The full House and Senate have not yet considered these bills. If they do not resolve differences between their proposals for HUD and other parts of the government before FY26 begins on October 1, they will need to adopt a continuing resolution to keep the government open with funding continuing at this year’s levels.

Details of the funding levels in both bills are shown in the table above.

The House Appropriations Committee passed its bill, H.R. 4552, on July 17, with deep cuts in some HUD programs. It does not adopt the administration’s proposal to combine numerous programs into a block grant to states, but does include some of the significant cuts proposed in the administration’s budget: it would provide no funding for HOME or housing counseling, would reduce SHOP from $12 million this year to $9 million, and would drop fair housing from $86.4 million to $29.5 million. It would hold CDBG and Native American programs at current levels. It would also decrease HUD staffing by 26%.

The Senate Appropriations Committee passed its bill, S. 2465, on July 24.  In contrast to the House bill, the Senate would provide $1.25 billion for the HOME program. The Senate bill would also increase funding above this year’s levels for housing vouchers, project-based rental assistance, homeless assistance grants, Section 202 elderly housing, and Section 811 housing for people with disabilities. SHOP would be set at $13 million, up from $12 million in FY25, and the Rural Capacity Building program would receive $8 million. The bill would provide $3.1 billion for CDBG compared to this year’s $3.3 billion.

Neither the House nor the Senate would renew expiring Emergency Housing Program vouchers. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities provides state-by-state and demographic estimates of the loss of Housing Choice Vouchers under the House and Senate Transportation-HUD proposals.

More Details Released on Administration’s Proposed HUD Funding

On May 30, 2025, the White House released more details on its fiscal year 2026 budget request. Adding to the information in the “skinny budget” from May 2, this version provides numbers for individual programs. Fiscal year 2026 begins on October 1, 2025.

Reductions to HUD Programs

HUD’s HOME and Community Development Block Grant programs would be zeroed out, along with the competitive programs that serve Native Americans, the Native Hawaiian Block Grant program, HUD’s self-sufficiency programs, and the Pathways to Removing Obstacles (PRO) Housing program. The Fair Housing Initiatives Program, which funds work by nonprofit fair housing organizations, would be defunded as well, though the Fair Housing Assistance Program would continue to support work by state and local governments.

Several other HUD programs – Tenant-Based Rental Assistance, Project-Based Rental Assistance, Public Housing, Section 202 elderly housing, and Section 811 housing for people with disabilities – would be combined into a block grant to states with reduced funding. Rental assistance would be limited to two years for able-bodied adults and a majority of it would be required to go to elders and people with disabilities.

The skinny budget indicated that “short- and medium-term housing assistance … to homeless and at-risk individuals” would also be capped at two years.

The Continuum of Care, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS, Emergency Solutions Grants, and other homeless assistance programs would be merged into an “expanded” Emergency Solutions Grant program, which would fund state and local governments.

The budget proposes to defund HUD’s Rural Capacity Building program.

HUD’s Section 4 capacity building program, which serves both rural and urban places, would support only Habitat for Humanity under the budget. For years, Section 4 has also enabled Enterprise Community Partners and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation to assist community organizations.

HUD’s Congressional Justifications document, which explains the budget request to members of Congress, reports that FY25 appropriations can support 8,597 full-time HUD staff, while the proposed FY26 levels would provide 6,340 full-time staff, a 26 percent reduction. It is not clear whether the stated FY25 staffing levels take into account some or all of the layoffs that have been attempted in calendar year 2025.

A New CDFI Program for Rural Communities

The budget proposes a new $100 million Rural Financial Assistance Program at the Treasury Department. Community Development Financial Institutions receiving these funds would be required to use 60 percent of their awards for rural areas, with a priority to investments and loans in places with poverty rates of at least 20 percent. At least 10 percent of total program funds would be targeted to persistent poverty counties, where poverty rates have been at or above 20 percent for 30 years or more.

Although rural-serving CDFIs would benefit from the new program, the budget would eliminate funding for the existing CDFI assistance programs, including the Native CDFI programs. The skinny budget stated that “the CDFI industry has matured beyond the need for ‘seed’ money and should at this point be financially self-sustaining.” The CDFI Fund recently indicated that only Congress could eliminate any of its programs: in a response to an executive order, the Fund stated that all of its programs are required by statute.

Disaster relief through FEMA, the Small Business Administration, and USDA would be reduced. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the Community Services Block Grant would terminate.

The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness would be eliminated, as would NeighborWorks USA (referenced by its official name, the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation). The Appalachian Regional Commission would continue, with lower funding, but other regional commissions would end.

Next Steps

This budget represents the first step in a lengthier process to set appropriations for FY26. Both the House and the Senate will develop their own appropriations bills, which may or may not resemble the President’s proposal. The House and Senate should resolve any differences between their bills and send final versions to the President for signature by September 30. If they do not meet that deadline, a continuing resolution would be needed to keep the government running.

The House Appropriations Committee has scheduled its subcommittee markup of the HUD appropriations bill for July 14, with full committee consideration on July 17. The Senate Appropriations Committee has not released a schedule as of June 3.

The budget reconciliation bill to set future spending and tax levels is a separate process, though it could have an impact on FY26 appropriations if Congress agrees on a bill.

For ongoing news on both appropriations and reconciliation, subscribe to HAC emails, which include the free biweekly HAC News.

 

 

HAC CEO Statement on Trump Administration and Congressional Actions on Housing

President Trump’s Executive Order barring institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes was one of last week’s several welcome policy actions aimed at curtailing the affordability crisis gripping rural America. Congress also passed several bipartisan appropriations bills which, if enacted, would provide robust funding for critical programs and resources such as the US Treasury Department’s CDFI Fund, as well as several programs administered by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the US Department of Agriculture. HAC applauds the latest policy advancements toward making rural housing more affordable for renters and homebuyers all over the country.

According to the Council of Economic Advisors report, rural rents have increased 31.5 percent over the past two decades, while rural renter incomes have increased just 5.5 percent in the same span of time. Additionally, HAC research shows that while non-rural markets experienced a 10 percent growth in housing supply over the last decade, rural housing supply only experienced a 1 percent increase in the same span.

Both this week’s Executive Order, and the advances made in Congress, are steps in the right direction, and could ultimately lead to powerful tools in the fight against the rural housing affordability crisis. HAC also believes that the affordability crisis in rural America requires a sustained and intentional effort using proven existing tools. While Congress has made welcome progress, funds for several critical programs have yet to be distributed to applicants who are working daily to help low-income rural renters and homeowners.  HAC looks forward to working with the Administration and the dedicated career employees at HUD, Treasury, and USDA, to ensure that this backlog, as well as newly appropriated fiscal 2026 funds, are brought to bear urgently on the housing challenges faced by rural Americans.

HAC’s 2026 Rural Housing Policy Priorities

For over 50 years, the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) has been the voice for the poorest of the poor in the most rural places. Our deeply rooted work in communities across the country informs our research and drives our policy positions. Our independent and non-partisan work with members of Congress, federal agencies, affordable housing and community development organizations, and other stakeholders ensures the most vulnerable rural populations – especially those in high-needs regions like the Mississippi Delta, rural Appalachia, farmworker communities, the Southwest border colonias, and Indian Country – have improved access to safe and affordable housing opportunities.

Rural America is home to about 20 percent of the U.S. population and covers more than 90 percent of the U.S. landmass. Its small towns and rural regions are demographically and economically varied and face a wide array of local challenges and opportunities for developing their communities and housing. While each place is unique, HAC has documented several themes. Persistent poverty is a predominantly rural condition. Habitable rural housing is in severely short supply. The adequate housing that does exist is often unaffordable because rural incomes are low and run well below the national median. Rural housing lacks adequate plumbing and kitchen facilities at a rate above the national average. Overcrowding is not uncommon in some rural regions. Decades of stagnant rural house prices have denied owners the wealth and mobility so often associated with buying a home. Complicating these challenges, a lack of reliable rural data obscures rural realities.

In addressing these issues, HAC’s policy priorities include:

  1. Building the capacity of local affordable housing and community development organizations deeply rooted in rural places;
  2. Expanding access to credit and safe, affordable lending in rural communities;

We invite you to view our 2026 Policy Priorities and explore the various policy issues facing rural communities. You can also access an Executive Summary of the Policy Priorities.

 

HAC’s Policy Priorities for 2026

 

HAC CEO Applauds Markup of Housing Supply Package, Urges Further Bipartisan Action to Address Rural Housing Affordability Crisis

On December 16 and 17, 2025, the House Financial Services Committee marked up the Housing for the 21st Century Act, a package of housing supply reforms. This package came together in response to the Senate Banking Committee’s ROAD to Housing Act package, which passed in the Senate earlier this year but has not been considered in the House.

“This package of housing supply modernizations is a welcome example of bipartisan compromise in a challenging policy environment,” said David Lipsetz, President & CEO of the Housing Assistance Council. “Rural communities need more housing and passing this bill will help. But we would be remiss if we didn’t point out that most of the rural-specific provisions were left out of the House bill.”

The  version passed by the Senate Banking Committee over the summer included HAC’s top policy priority, the Rural Housing Service (RHS) Reform Act (S. 1260 and H.R.4957). This bill would provide the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Housing Service (RHS) with new tools to address the preservation of rural rental housing; authorize successful pilot programs; modernize the single-family housing programs; and improve USDA’s internal infrastructure, technology, and reporting.

While the House removed the key RHS Reform Act provisions for preserving USDA’s flagship multifamily program (Section 515), several other provisions remained that will help rural communities in need:

  • Increased Section 504 Loan Limits: Raises the maximum that can be loaned without a mortgage from $7,500 to $15,000 for critical home repairs and expands eligibility to low-income applicants, not just very low-income applicants.
  • Annual Rural Housing Report: Requires USDA to publish transparent data on Rural Housing Service program performance.
  • Technology Modernization Study: Directs GAO to assess funding needed to modernize outdated USDA systems; current system is about 20 years old.
  • 90-Day Processing Goal: Establishes expectations for timely application review and requires reporting on delays.

“Rural housing organizations were disappointed to see USDA Section 515 multifamily preservation left on the cutting room floor during negotiations on the House package. Rural housing markets deserve better,” said Lipsetz. “We are part of a large coalition of national and local partners working to preserve the remaining 385,000 units in this deeply affordable USDA portfolio. Appropriators have started to provide the necessary tools and flexibilities on a pilot basis. Now we need the multifamily provisions of the RHS Reform Act to execute a long-term preservation strategy that keeps these rural families in good quality rental housing.”

Between 2013 and 2023, rural areas experienced only an estimated 1 percent overall increase in their housing stock compared to a 10 percent increase for non-rural areas. Measuring the change in housing units includes two components: 1) new homes – housing units added between 2013 and 2023; and 2) lost stock – the decrease in homes built in earlier periods. This basic analysis reveals that rural areas experienced a relatively minor increase in new homes constructed over the 10-year period. But simultaneously, there was a substantial reduction in the existing rural housing stock. Homes built before 2013 declined by 6.5 percent in rural counties, compared to only a 1.6 percent decline for non-rural areas. To learn more, read HAC’s latest issue of Rural Voices, which is focused on rural housing supply, and read HAC’s comments for the record for the House Financial Services Committee’s recent housing supply hearing.

HAC Opposes Proposed Changes to ECOA Equal Lending Rule

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proposed to change its rules for the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which requires fairness in lending, including mortgage lending. The revisions would eliminate use of disparate impact — the legal concept that conduct is discriminatory if it has inequitable effects, even if there was no intent to discriminate — and would revise provisions on discouragement of applicants or prospective applicants and on special purpose credit programs. HAC’s response argues that disparate impact is a necessary tool to identify discrimination in mortgage lending, including discrimination against rural residents.

CFPB ECOA disparate impact HAC Final

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