Housing Innovation Act

The Housing Innovation Act establishes an Office of Housing Innovation within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), led by a newly created Assistant Secretary for Housing Innovation . This office is tasked with exploring and developing novel approaches to increase and diversify the housing supply, thereby addressing critical challenges such as housing shortages, affordability, and traffic congestion. It aims to integrate housing as a vital component of national infrastructure and improve coordination of federal resources. The Assistant Secretary will be responsible for accumulating and disseminating information on innovative housing practices, administering new grant programs, and coordinating with other HUD offices and federal agencies like the Departments of Transportation and Energy. The office will also provide technical assistance to local governments for planning and policy reforms. To ensure comprehensive expertise, the office will include detailees from the Department of Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Energy. The bill authorizes three distinct grant programs to support these efforts. The first provides up to $2,000,000 to eligible localities for local planning for housing , focusing on increasing supply, improving affordability, diversifying housing options, and reducing commute times. The second offers up to $500,000 for research and pilot projects to eligible partnerships, covering areas like "last mile" commuting, student housing, home-sharing, and modular building techniques. The third program allocates up to $200,000 for education activities to partnerships including academic institutions, supporting outreach on housing and community development. An annual appropriation of $100,000,000 is authorized for fiscal years 2026 through 2032, with specific allocations for each grant program. The bill also mandates a Government Accountability Office (GAO) review of these grant programs within three years to assess their effectiveness. Congress expresses that this funding should not diminish existing affordable housing programs.