The Spring Street Brief

Episode 85: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Heads to House Floor

The House Financial Services Committee released an updated version of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, and the full House is expected to vote on the bill today — notably without the SAVE America Act attached, despite President Trump calling for its inclusion. For LIHTC investors, developers, syndicators, and lenders, the decision to decouple these two measures is the critical signal: the affordable housing finance provisions now have a chance to move on their own terms, at least through the House. Key Takeaways: * The House Financial Services Committee released an updated version of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act ahead of today's floor vote. * The bill is advancing without the SAVE America Act, despite explicit pressure from President Trump via social media — a significant procedural decision by House leadership. * Decoupling the SAVE America Act removes a potential complicating rider from the affordable housing finance provisions in the ROAD Act. * A clean House passage would strengthen the bill's posture heading into the Senate, where it will face pressure within a broader reconciliation framework. * Prior versions of the ROAD Act have included provisions relevant to LIHTC deal structures, bond financing, and HUD program administration — making floor amendments today a key watch item. * Any modification to the tax title or housing finance provisions during floor consideration could affect deal pricing and credit assumptions for transactions in the pipeline. * If the bill passes the House, attention shifts immediately to Senate Finance and the question of what survives a conference process. The next 48 hours are a genuine inflection point for affordable housing legislation in this Congress. A successful House vote without the SAVE America Act sets up a cleaner Senate fight — but the Senate's reconciliation environment remains unpredictable. Developers and investors with active deal timelines should stay close to their government relations contacts and monitor floor amendments in real time. What passes the House today shapes the negotiating baseline for everything that follows. Subscribe to The Spring Street Brief for daily updates on affordable housing in America.

Episode 84: HUD PIH Releases FY 2026 HCV Funding Allocations

HUD's Office of Public and Indian Housing has published its FY 2026 Housing Choice Voucher funding allocation notice, introducing targeted policy changes to Housing Assistance Payments and Administrative Fees. While the notice largely mirrors the FY 2025 framework, the adjustments carry direct implications for PHA administrative capacity, project-based voucher deal underwriting, and voucher lease-up timelines across the country. Key Takeaways: * PIH's FY 2026 HCV allocation notice is now published and effective — deal teams should update pro formas accordingly. * Policy changes are concentrated in two areas: Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) and Administrative Fees. * HAP funding levels set the ceiling on rent subsidies in PBV transactions closing or renewing in FY 2026 — high-cost metro deals are most exposed to compression risk. * Administrative fee rates directly affect PHA capacity to run PBV solicitations, process inspections, and advance LIHTC layered closings. * Historically, underfunded administrative fees have caused PHAs to slow-walk new PBV commitments, creating mid-year closing risk for developers and lenders. * The publication of formal allocation guidance signals administrative continuity at the program level despite ongoing congressional budget uncertainty. * PHAs should assess administrative capacity against the new fee parameters before committing to new PBV solicitations in the second half of 2026. This notice lands at a critical moment for voucher-dependent affordable housing pipelines. Developers, syndicators, and lenders with active PBV deals should reconcile FY 2026 HAP and administrative fee parameters against existing underwriting assumptions immediately. PHAs weighing new solicitations should model administrative fee sufficiency before making commitments they may not be able to operationalize. Subscribe to The Spring Street Brief for daily updates on affordable housing in America.

Episode 83: FY27 HUD Budget Hearing and the 21st Century ROAD Act

HUD Secretary Scott Turner faced bipartisan support for HUD programs during FY27 budget hearings before both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees last week — a notable signal amid broad discretionary spending pressure. At the same time, the House released an amended 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act on May 14, with a floor vote expected this week. For LIHTC investors, developers, syndicators, and lenders, the convergence of an active appropriations fight, a major housing supply bill, and early reconciliation maneuvering makes the next several weeks unusually high-stakes. Key Takeaways: * HUD Secretary Scott Turner testified before both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees in response to the Trump administration's FY27 budget request. * Bipartisan committee support for HUD programs creates political cover for preserving Housing Choice Voucher and project-based rental assistance funding — both critical to LIHTC deal structures and compliance. * The amended 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act text was released May 14; a House floor vote is expected the week of May 18. * House Republicans held a closed-door meeting on May 12 to discuss a potential third reconciliation package — a vehicle that could carry tax title changes affecting LIHTC, depreciation, or bond financing. * A separate $72 billion reconciliation bill focused on ICE and CBP funding is already in progress, signaling active use of the reconciliation process this Congress. * NLIHC joined a national sign-on letter urging full inclusion of the Rural Housing Service Reform Act in the final housing supply package — a provision relevant to deals in rural markets and USDA-financed properties. * HUD's proposed Equal Access Rule NPRM, which would scale back equal access protections in HUD programs, is drawing legal analysis from the National Housing Law Project, with a webinar scheduled for May 20. Deals currently in predevelopment or financing are underwriting into a policy environment that could shift on multiple fronts at once. The ROAD Act's amended text deserves a close read for provisions touching private activity bond volume cap, zoning preemption, or federal land and financing tools. The third reconciliation conversation is early — but it is already happening behind closed doors, and the LIHTC community should be engaged before the vehicle takes shape. Subscribe to The Spring Street Brief for daily updates on affordable housing in America.

Episode 82: HUD FY2027 Budget: Cuts, Work Requirements, and CDBG End

HUD Secretary Scott Turner testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on May 12, 2026, outlining President Trump's FY2027 budget for HUD. The proposal includes the elimination of the Community Development Block Grant program, work requirements for rental assistance recipients, and a series of targeted funding allocations — all of which carry direct implications for LIHTC developers, syndicators, lenders, and housing operators who depend on the federal affordable housing infrastructure. Key Takeaways: * The FY2027 budget proposes full elimination of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, a common gap-financing source in affordable housing deal stacks. * Work requirements of at least 20 hours per week and 5-year time limits are proposed for able-bodied adults in HUD rental assistance programs, including Section 8. * $160 million is allocated for FHA administrative contracts to support homeownership access and program operations. * $30 million is secured for the Melania Trump Foster Youth to Independence initiative, targeting the roughly 20,000 youth who age out of foster care annually, nearly 1 in 4 of whom experience homelessness. * $30 million each is proposed for the Program Integrity Initiative and Project HUGS, HUD's sub-recipient reporting and improper payment detection program. * HUD's FY25 Agency Financial Report identified over $5 billion in potential payment errors, including payments to nearly 30,000 deceased tenants — a figure driving the administration's oversight push. * From January 2025 to March 2026, HUD reports supporting homeownership for over 1.2 million households, more than 70% first-time buyers — a metric Turner used to frame disciplined policy outcomes. The FY2027 budget is a proposal, not law — CDBG elimination has been proposed and rejected in prior cycles. But the directional signal matters for deal structuring now. Developers and lenders with CDBG in their financing stacks should assess alternative gap sources. LIHTC asset managers and compliance officers at properties with project-based or tenant-based vouchers should begin evaluating what work requirement tracking and potential increased turnover would mean for their operating pro formas. The appropriations process will determine what survives, but the administration's priorities are on the table. Subscribe to The Spring Street Brief for daily updates on affordable housing in America.

Episode 81: Trump Backs 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act

President Trump publicly called on Congress to pass the Senate version of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act via Truth Social, drawing an immediate supportive response from Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC). For LIHTC investors, developers, syndicators, and lenders, this rare alignment between the White House and a key Senate committee chair signals a potentially accelerating legislative timeline with direct implications for affordable housing finance and production. Key Takeaways: * President Trump posted on Truth Social Monday urging Congress to pass the Senate version of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act — a direct White House endorsement. * Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, publicly thanked the president on X, signaling committee-level alignment and readiness to move. * The bill targets regulatory and land use barriers to housing production, with provisions that could reduce soft costs and improve deal feasibility for LIHTC transactions. * White House backing shortens the effective window for industry stakeholder engagement — Senate committee markup could come quickly while presidential attention remains focused. * LIHTC developers and syndicators should assess how the Senate version interacts with existing tax credit structures and Private Activity Bond volume cap rules. * State HFAs and lenders should monitor provisions affecting federal fund flows to state-level affordable housing programs. * The House will need to reconcile its own version — bicameral differences could affect final provisions relevant to the tax credit industry. Presidential attention on housing legislation is rare and time-limited. With Senator Scott positioned to move quickly in committee, industry participants — developers, syndicators, investors, and HFAs — should be engaging their Senate offices now to ensure that LIHTC protections and enhancements are part of the final bill. This is an opening, not a guarantee, and the window for meaningful input may close faster than a typical legislative cycle. Subscribe to The Spring Street Brief for daily updates on affordable housing in America.