“To establish a pilot program to convert blighted buildings into housing.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes the Blighted Building to Housing Conversion Program (Pilot Program), a competitive grant initiative under which, for FY2027 through 2031 and if amounts available for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program—which provides formula grants to participating jurisdictions (i.e., certain states and units of general local government) for affordable housing and community development—exceed $1.35 billion, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may use up to $100 million of such excess funds to award grants of $1 million to $10 million (or smaller grants to maximize awards if less than $100 million is available) to eligible entities (i.e., HOME participating jurisdictions) for converting vacant and abandoned commercial or industrial buildings into attainable housing (i.e., serving households at or below 100% or 120% area median income, with a majority of units affordable to households at or below 80% or 60% area median income, respectively). Grants are in addition to an eligible entity's regular HOME formula allocation; the Secretary must prioritize applications from areas of economic distress, qualified opportunity zones, those addressing needs in consolidated plans, or localities that have reduced non-safety regulatory barriers to such conversions; and funds may be used for property acquisition, demolition, health hazard remediation, site preparation, construction or rehabilitation, or community land trusts. HOME requirements for rental, sale, and resale apply to converted units, and the Secretary may waive or modify non-core statutory or regulatory requirements (except those related to fair housing, nondiscrimination, labor standards, or the environment) upon a public good-cause finding. Not later than 180 days after the Pilot Program terminates, the Secretary must submit to Congress a study on its impacts on local tax bases, affordable housing access (especially for elderly, disabled, and veteran households), homeownership, and blight removal.