Why It Matters

The federal government's largest block grant dedicated exclusively to affordable housing is operating under regulations that have not caught up with major statutory changes enacted this summer.

A new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report says the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (P.L. 119-101), enacted July 11, reauthorized the HOME Investment Partnerships Program and made changes that remain unincorporated into regulations at 24 C.F.R. Part 92. In the current fiscal year, 625 local participating jurisdictions receive HOME funding.

The Big Picture

HOME, authorized by the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, distributes annual appropriations by formula, with 40% going to states and 60% to localities. Participating jurisdictions generally must provide a 25% permanent match on HOME funds spent.

Annual appropriations generally ranged from $1.5 billion to $2 billion from the late 1990s through fiscal 2011, did not exceed $1 billion from fiscal 2012 through fiscal 2017, and more recently have been approximately $1.25 billion. The current fiscal year's appropriation is $1.25 billion.

P.L. 119-101 eliminated the 24-month commitment deadline and changed how uncommitted funds reserved for community housing development organizations are treated after 24 months. It also raised the homeownership income limit from 80% to 100% of area median income and the maximum purchase price from 95% to 110% of the area median purchase price.

The law also added certain infrastructure improvements as an eligible activity and eliminated the statutory preference for rehabilitation. HUD must issue rules implementing the infrastructure and environmental-review provisions by July 11, 2027. The department must complete a Build America, Buy America Act review by Jan. 7, 2027, and report to Congress by April 7, 2027.

A separate implementation issue involves HOME-ARP, established under the American Rescue Plan Act. Through June, grantees had spent 28% of allocated HOME-ARP funds. Unspent funds are subject to recapture after Sept. 30, 2030.

A 2025 HUD final rule, most of which took effect April 20, 2025, reformed per-unit subsidy limits, revised affordability periods, and relaxed CHDO requirements. Provisions establishing uniform tenant protections and a green-building exception were subsequently delayed indefinitely.

The Bottom Line

The new statutory changes are effective, but HOME's regulations have not yet been updated to reflect them. HUD now faces rulemaking and implementation deadlines as participating jurisdictions administer the revised program and continue spending HOME-ARP funds ahead of the 2030 recapture deadline.

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