H.R. 2840 — Housing Supply Frameworks Act

This section states congressional findings on the U.S. housing shortage, including an estimated shortage of 3,850,000 homes as of 2022 that has resulted in record numbers of cost-burdened households nationwide. It identifies contributing factors such as rising construction costs, labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, lack of reliable funding, and state and local regulatory barriers like zoning and land use regulations; notes state and local reform efforts and the need for additional federal resources, data, and models; and declares that zoning ordinances restricting housing opportunities based on economic status or income—absent substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interests outweighing regional housing needs—are contrary to regional and national interests.

This section defines key terms for the Act, including “affordable housing” as housing in which the occupant pays no more than 30 percent of gross income for housing costs; “Assistant Secretary” as the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research of the Department of Housing and Urban Development; “local zoning framework” as local zoning codes and other ordinances, procedures, and policies governing zoning and land use; “state zoning framework” as state legislation or procedures enabling local planning and zoning authorities and guiding related policies and programs (including in U.S. insular areas); and “Secretary” as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

This section directs the Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to publish, not later than three years after enactment, guidelines and best practices to support production of adequate housing across income levels with respect to (1) state zoning frameworks and (2) local zoning frameworks. During the two-year period beginning on enactment, the Assistant Secretary must publish draft guidelines in the Federal Register for public comment and establish a task force for consultation that includes planners, architects, affordable housing advocates, developers, community members, public housing and transit authorities, local zoning officials, state housing officials, academics, and home builders. The guidelines must (1) outline models for updated state enabling legislation or procedures; (2) recommend reforms such as reducing or eliminating parking minimums, increasing floor area ratios, building heights, and by-right uses (e.g., duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes), eliminating accessory dwelling unit restrictions, streamlining reviews, reducing impact fees, encouraging transit-oriented development, reforming public engagement and protest petitions, standardizing zoning codes, and establishing state zoning appeals processes with exemptions for high-affordability areas; and (3) consider local housing needs and goals, affordability ranges prioritizing low-income residents, home rule variations, accountability, and costs of housing shortages. (Thus, the guidelines aim to facilitate zoning reforms that increase housing supply while addressing affordability, equity, and community impacts.)

This section directs the Assistant Secretary to submit to Congress, not later than five years after publishing the guidelines and best practices for state and local zoning frameworks under section 4, a report describing (1) the states that have adopted recommendations from those guidelines and best practices; (2) a summary of the localities that have adopted such recommendations; (3) a list of states that adopted a state zoning framework; (4) a summary of the modifications that each such state has made to its state zoning framework; and (5) a general summary of the types of updates localities have made to their local zoning frameworks.

This section abolishes the Regulatory Barriers Clearinghouse—a HUD repository that collects and disseminates information on state and local laws, regulations, and policies affecting affordable housing development (including zoning, building codes, and tax policies) and strategies to remove or ameliorate such barriers—and repeals the underlying statutory authority.