Democrats Make Housing Policy Part of Their Campaign-Year Pitch

Although housing policy rarely takes center stage during presidential election years, President Joe Biden has released a new plan to potentially increase home construction across the country. As part of his 2022 Housing Supply Action Plan, this new strategy is "cutting the red tape"—reducing various local bureaucratic challenges—and could remove barriers to building new housing.

The "red tape" plan includes several components, each tackling challenges in financing, construction, environmental effects, preservation, and more, many spanning different federal agencies. For example, the plan includes new guidance from the Department of Transportation on building transit oriented developments that would provide environmental review exemptions and shorten review timelines for new qualifying housing projects; similarly, the administration identified sluggish historic preservation reviews under Section 106 of the Historic Preservation Act—which requires federal review over any proposed changes that could affect historic properties—and proposes exemptions and reduced review processes.

But perhaps most exciting, and potentially controversial, of these measures is the expansion of their Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing plan, in which the Department of Housing and Urban Development would make an additional $100 million in grants available for cities to eliminate barriers to new housing construction. As reported this week by Bloomberg CityLab, "the goal is to build long-term capacity for increasing the supply of homes organically by providing carrots to cities to reform their zoning ordinances." This is the second round of this grant, which in June this year awarded its first $85 million to 21 communities. It comes on top of Biden’s 2023 $50 billion New Housing Supply Fund, which includes $10 billion in grants to reduce barriers and incentivize cities to build new subsidized housing.  

The effort comes at a time when reports show that new multifamily housing projects are in the pipeline, and vacancy rates are up while new construction starts are low. Both Democrats and Republicans have addressed housing woes in their party platforms, but with an election looming, these new policies are in an uncertain position. Vice President Kamala Harris released her housing plan at a North Carolina campaign rally as part of her bid for the 2024 presidential election. Her plan builds on Biden’s efforts to increase federal housing interventions; According to the New York Times, she would continue cutting the tape with a $40 billion investment fund, provide an additional $25,000 in down-payment assistance, and remove tax benefits for those investment companies that own large numbers of single-family homes. Per CNN, her plan would also provide tax incentives to developers who build starter homes for first-time buyers and a $40 billion "innovation fund" designed to "spur innovative new construction."

Though former president Donald Trump’s stated housing strategies are vague, with only allusions to constructing new housing on public lands, Project 2025—a political playbook developed by the Heritage Foundation which many argue would shape Republican policy if Trump wins—proposes strategies and ideologies that undercut Democrats’ plan to incentivize multifamily construction. (Trump has tried to distance himself from Project 2025, claiming he has "no idea who is behind it," despite the fact that 140 of his past employees are involved.)

Project 2025 names single-family zoning as a core component of its housing plan, and opposes any federal authority in local rezoning: "American homeowners and citizens know best what is in the interest of their neighborhoods and communities. Localities rather than the federal government must have the final say in zoning laws and regulations, and a conservative Administration should oppose any efforts to weaken single-family zoning." But these aren’t only ideological differences: Project 2025 also recommends that the 2023 New Housing Supply Fund be eliminated entirely. 

Related reading:

How Will the Next President Fix the Housing Crisis?

Some Good News? More Rentals Are Now Vacant Nationwide

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