S. 2720 — Yes in God's Backyard Act

This section establishes a technical assistance program and a competitive challenge grant program under a new subtitle G of Title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (i.e., HOME Investment Partnerships program) to help faith-based organizations, institutions of higher education, and local governments remove barriers to producing and preserving affordable rental housing (i.e., units with rents not exceeding 30% of household income for households at or below 100% of area median income) on property owned by faith-based organizations and institutions of higher education. The technical assistance program provides publicly available resources—developed in consultation with the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and other agencies—covering property development and preservation (including for households at or below 60% of area median income, homeless or at-risk individuals and families including veterans, persons with disabilities, intergenerational families, other special needs populations, and units in areas of opportunity), federal housing assistance, and best practices for development partners, land use, and state/local policies; it authorizes appropriations of $25 million for FY2026 and $10 million annually for FY2027 through FY2031. The challenge grant program awards funds to eligible grantees—states, units of general local government, metropolitan planning organizations, or multi-jurisdictional entities—that demonstrate existing policies to remove such barriers.