Housing

The Choice in Affordable Housing Act of 2025 aims to improve the Housing Choice Voucher program by increasing landlord participation, particularly in high-opportunity neighborhoods (census tracts with poverty rates below 20%). It authorizes one-time payments to landlords (up to 200% of monthly housing assistance), security deposit payments to reduce tenant barriers, and bonuses for public housing agencies that employ dedicated landlord liaisons. The bill establishes a $100 million annual fund (2025-2029) to support these initiatives through the Herschel Lashkowitz Housing Partnership Fund. This legislation directly affects low-income families using vouchers, landlords who participate in the program, and public housing agencies administering the program.

HR 6345, the Point-Access Housing Guidelines Act of 2025, requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to create federal guidelines for permitting residential buildings with a single internal stairway serving all units (up to five stories). These guidelines will cover fire safety, construction costs, accessibility, and include examples from existing jurisdictions and expert input. Local governments, developers, and housing authorities would use these model codes to more easily adopt such buildings, potentially increasing housing supply in high-cost areas without overriding local building codes. HUD may also fund pilot projects to test the safety and feasibility of these designs.

HR 5529, the Fair Housing for Disabled Veterans Act, changes how veteran disability payments are treated when determining eligibility for low-income housing programs. Specifically, it amends the tax code to exclude disability compensation or pension payments (under 38 U.S.C. chapters 11 or 15) from income calculations for low-income housing tax credits and residential rental project bonds. This means disabled veterans applying for these housing assistance programs will not have their disability benefits counted as income, potentially making them eligible for more housing options they otherwise might have been disqualified from. The bill directly affects disabled veterans seeking affordable housing through these federally supported programs.