Congresswoman Kathy Castor said a bipartisan housing package on the verge of becoming law could help address two issues that have increasingly collided across Tampa Bay: the shortage of affordable housing and the region’s repeated recovery from hurricanes.
Castor discussed the 21st Century Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream (ROAD) to Housing Act Thursday at Zion Village, an affordable housing community in Riverview, alongside affordable housing advocates and youth leaders.
The bipartisan act, Castor said, “is the most meaningful housing affordability legislation in decades.”
The legislation represents one of the most comprehensive federal housing reform efforts in years. Rather than creating a single new housing program, the bill updates dozens of existing federal housing policies intended to remove barriers to construction, expand financing options, strengthen disaster recovery programs and make homeownership more attainable for first-time buyers, veterans and working families.
For Tampa Bay, one of the most significant provisions permanently authorizes the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program.
Until now, Congress has generally had to approve disaster recovery funding after major hurricanes. The ROAD to Housing Act formally establishes the program in federal law, creating a more predictable system for communities rebuilding after storms.
That provision carries particular significance for the Tampa Bay area after Hurricanes Helene and Milton left billions of dollars in damage across the region.
In a prepared statement released following congressional passage of the bill, Castor noted that CDBG-DR “has delivered billions of dollars in disaster recovery funding to Tampa Bay communities and neighbors impacted by recent hurricanes.”
The legislation also attempts to address what economists estimate is a national housing shortage of approximately 5.5 million homes by making it easier for communities to build.
Among its provisions are incentives to streamline permitting, encourage local zoning reforms, modernize federal housing programs and allow local governments greater flexibility to expand affordable housing.
The bill also promotes adaptive reuse projects that convert vacant buildings into housing, expands opportunities for manufactured housing and eases certain environmental review requirements for qualifying developments.
Supporters argue those changes could reduce construction costs while shortening the time required to bring new housing online.
Another major component focuses on financing, including changes intended to make it easier for community banks and local lenders to finance residential construction while expanding mortgage opportunities for first-time homebuyers and veterans.
Castor has also spent several years criticizing large institutional investors that purchase single-family homes, arguing they have contributed to rising housing prices in Florida.
The ROAD to Housing Act includes provisions she championed that increase oversight of institutional investors and seek to level the playing field for individual homebuyers.
“Homes are for people, not for hedge fund managers,” Castor said in her prepared statement after the bill cleared Congress.
She also noted that the legislation includes incentives for permitting and construction while expanding resources available to local governments and nonprofit housing organizations.
“This law is a solid foundation for our shared efforts to rein in housing costs, expand access to affordable homes and build a stronger, more resilient Tampa Bay area,” Castor said. “I am proud to support this act because it includes significant new tools for local governments, housing providers, community lenders, nonprofit partners and neighbors.”
The legislation comes as housing affordability continues to rank among the top concerns for Floridians. Rising mortgage rates, insurance premiums, construction costs and limited inventory have pushed the dream of homeownership further out of reach for many families, while local governments across the Tampa Bay region continue searching for ways to increase housing supply without sacrificing affordability.
If signed into law, the ROAD to Housing Act would provide those communities with additional federal tools to encourage construction, preserve existing affordable housing, improve disaster recovery and expand homeownership opportunities, while leaving many implementation decisions to local governments and housing providers.