A look at the new regulations and incentives in the housing bill set to become law

Geoff Bennett:

Welcome to the "News Hour."

Just hours from now, a sweeping new housing bill is set to become law. The measure passed Congress with bipartisan support, but President Trump said today he will not sign it, protesting the GOP Senate's failure to approve his election legislation known as the SAVE America Act.

Now, barring a last-minute veto, the bill will usher in new housing regulations and incentives at midnight.

Lisa Desjardins is here with more on what's set to change.

Good to see you, Lisa.

So this is a housing affordability -- it's a complex problem. This is a complex bill. What are some of the most impactful aspects of this legislation?

Lisa Desjardins:

I'm so excited to talk about actual policy.

As you said, this is a complex subject, but this bill has quite a lot to it. It is not a show bill. It does have some serious impact and effect. So let's look at them right now.

First of all, the biggest ones,this would redefine manufactured housing in this country, removing a 1970s era requirement. It also would speed up loans and support for modular housing. So, together, those two provisions really could create a big boom in one form of housing being more available.

At the same time, it also would limit corporations or institutional investors from buying more than 350 homes, and they would get a million dollar penalty if they do that.

Now, this bill essentially attacks the housing problem by increasing supply. That is just one part of the problem, and it would take time. One of the experts I spoke to said the full rollout of this could mean three to five years in -- in affecting the market directly.

What could happen most quickly? Those manufactured and modular housing pieces. So, for years, what happened was, manufactured housing had a requirement in this country that had a steel chassis underneath it. That is an outdated requirement, but it's been in place for 50 years. This bill removes that.

That could revolutionize how manufactured housing is built and also make it cheaper. Those chassis cost $10,000 each. I spoke to a representative from the Manufactured Housing Institute today. They said this is a game changer, and it's what they see as the future of housing.

Geoff Bennett:

So, as you said, this is a big bill. What are some of the more overlooked provisions here?

Lisa Desjardins:

Right. It's difficult to choose just three, but I did. So these are three that are overlooked that I want to talk about.

First of all, rural America would benefit from this. This would protect subsidies for almost half-a-million renters in rural America. It also would expand home repair subsidies for low-income Americans.

And listen to this. It would encourage more community banks, give them more flexibility. Why is that important? I spoke to one of the main negotiators of this bill, Republican French Hill. He said that community banks are actually one of the largest sources of loans for development around the country of housing.

So he wanted to make sure that there could be more of them, when in fact he's seen it go the other way. There have been fewer. Now, as I said, this is about supply, but a lot of advocates say this misses a big piece of the puzzle of affordability.

Let's look at where we are right now. The problem is vast. Home prices are up at an all-time high, as I know you've been talking about. Forty-three million Americans spend more than 30 percent of their income. That's sort of the mark people look at on housing.

But how about this? Some 12 million American renters are spending more than half of their income on housing. So this is why advocates say there is still a lot more to do.

I spoke with Libby O'Neill of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. She said they find hope in the fact that this bill was passed in a bipartisan way.

Libby O'Neill, National Low Income Housing Coalition:

So that's a really big deal. We have been encouraged to hear many of the congressional leaders say that this is a first step. We really need sustained investments in programs like rental assistance, public housing, programs to help people experiencing homelessness, to really make an impact for that population.

Lisa Desjardins:

Politically, there's some irony here. This is Congress doing something. The president has said nothing but good things about this bill, and yet here we are. The president is not planning to sign it.