Housing costs stayed front and center in Washington, state capitals, and city halls this past week. From a stalled federal housing bill to new voucher money in New York City, here's a look at what happened and what it means for renters, homeowners, and anyone counting on Section 8 or other housing assistance.
Congress Passes a Big Housing Bill, But Trump Won't Sign It Yet
The biggest housing story of the week is the fight over the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a sweeping bill meant to boost housing supply, expand homeownership, and limit big investment firms from buying up single-family homes. Both the House and Senate passed it by huge margins, and House Speaker Mike Johnson sent it to President Trump's desk on June 29. The catch: Trump has refused to commit to signing it, saying he wants Congress to first pass a separate voting bill known as the SAVE America Act.
That refusal has drawn sharp criticism. As we broke down in our own piece on how Congress just passed the biggest housing bill in decades, the legislation would expand rental assistance programs, raise limits on public housing renovation funding, and make it easier for local governments to approve new construction. Trump has since called the bill "a big yawn," comparing it unfavorably to his preferred voting legislation, even as he conceded that the SAVE America Act probably won't pass because several Republican senators won't support it. If Trump takes no action, the housing bill becomes law automatically without his signature.
One group that stands to benefit if the bill becomes law is the manufactured housing industry. As explained in a recent breakdown of how the affordable housing bill could help manufactured homes, the legislation would remove some of the outdated building rules that have made manufactured housing harder to finance and build, potentially opening up a cheaper path to homeownership for many families.
New York City Strikes a Deal on Housing Vouchers
In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the City Council reached a budget agreement that will put more money into rental assistance. According to a recent explainer on how the city plans to expand housing vouchers in its new budget, thousands of new households will become eligible for a rental subsidy program, though the expansion is smaller than what many lawmakers originally wanted. A companion report on Mamdani and the City Council's budget deal that expands housing vouchers notes the deal adds $175 million next year and $125 million the year after, mainly by loosening income rules for people in rent-stabilized apartments and homeless shelters. This new program works much like the city's local version of Section 8, paying rent subsidies directly to landlords on a tenant's behalf.
New York State Also Puts Money on the Table
Beyond the city, New York State is funding several major affordable housing projects. Governor Kathy Hochul announced the start of construction on the $167 million Chelsea Beacon redevelopment, which will turn a long-vacant former prison building in Manhattan into more than 130 permanently affordable apartments, including dozens of supportive housing units for people who need extra services.
Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, the long-delayed Atlantic Yards project is getting a fresh push. State officials have pledged roughly $700 million toward the project, and the new developers behind Atlantic Yards say affordable housing could be ready by 2031, more than two decades after the project was first announced. It's a reminder that even well-funded affordable housing plans can take years, or even decades, to actually deliver homes.
Outside the city, smaller towns are wrestling with their own affordable housing decisions. In Yorktown, New York, the town board held a public hearing on reinstating its affordable housing set-aside rule, which would require new developments of ten or more units to set aside a share of homes as affordable. Supporters say the rule is badly needed since the town's own affordable housing waitlist has grown past 500 people.
Chicago Takes Aim at Landlord-Tenant Rules
In Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson introduced the Protecting Renters Ordinance, a proposal that would be the city's biggest update to renter protections since the 1980s. Under the plan, landlords could be required to pay tenants up to $10,000 in relocation assistance if they're forced out of a lease without a valid reason, such as a major rent hike in one unit that's out of line with others in the building. The ordinance would also cap security deposits, limit application fees, and require landlords to register their rental units with the city. Supporters say it protects renters from being pushed out with little notice; landlord groups argue it could discourage investment in rental housing at a time when the city badly needs more of it.
Pressure on Washington to Release Housing Funds
A group of 23 senators, including Ben Ray Luján, sent a letter urging the Trump administration to release roughly $750 million in housing construction money that's been sitting unused. The senators are pushing the Trump administration to release affordable housing construction funds tied to programs like the Capital Magnet Fund and the Housing Trust Fund, arguing the money could help build or repair more than 63,000 homes without costing taxpayers anything extra.
Florida Adds Hundreds of Millions for Housing
Florida lawmakers also acted this week, approving a state budget that directs hundreds of millions of dollars toward housing affordability. The budget includes $50 million for a program that helps first responders and other essential workers buy their first home, $165 million for a state fund that helps residents afford housing, and about $71 million to help build new affordable rental units. Housing experts say the funding helps, but likely won't fully fix Florida's shortage of homes priced for working families.
A Warning About How Affordable Housing Money Gets Spent
Finally, a deeper look at how the country funds affordable housing raises some tough questions. A recent investigation found that the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program is pouring billions into housing many renters still can't afford, the country's main tool for funding new affordable apartments. In cities like Portland, rents in these "affordable" units have crept up close to market rate, and researchers have long argued that spending the same money on housing vouchers would help far more low-income families directly. It's a good reminder that how affordable housing money is spent matters just as much as how much gets spent.
The Bottom Line
Housing affordability remains one of the most active policy fights in the country right now, playing out in Congress, state legislatures, and city halls all at once. Whether any of it translates into real relief for renters and homebuyers will depend on what happens next: whether Trump signs the federal housing bill, how cities enforce their new tenant protections, and whether housing dollars actually reach the people who need them most.
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