this U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced Wednesday $100 million in new competitive grant funding designed to address bureaucratic barriers to new housing construction while lowering the cost of renting or buying a home.
“Through HUD’s PRO Housing program, communities across the country are eligible to apply for funding to remove barriers to local housing production,” HUD said in the competitive funding announcement.
In addition to HUD’s own announcements, White House A “fact sheet” has been released detailing PRO Housing’s inclusion in the Biden-Harris Administration’s Housing Supply Action Plan. The White House also seeks to address the root causes of affordability challenges faced by homebuyers and renters.
“This funding is designed to cut red tape and ensure we urgently build more homes, especially affordable homes, because people need help now,” Adrian Todman, acting secretary of Housing and Urban Development, said in a statement express. “The Biden-Harris Administration has made it a priority to lower housing costs by increasing the nation’s housing supply, and our partnerships with local communities are critical to achieving this goal.”
PRO housing programs aim to address barriers to housing construction, including restrictive land-use policies that often exist at the local level. It also aims to “facilitate the construction of new homes and repairs of existing homes and reduce energy costs” and provide grants to local governments, states, Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and multi-jurisdictional entities. HUD explains that individual grants range from $1 million to $7 million.
HUD originally announced the PRO Housing Fund program in June, with Vice President Kamala Harris briefing reporters on the issues the administration hopes to address through the program.
In this advisory, HUD identified some common themes. These include “high land and development costs, lack of available units, underutilized vacant land and properties, aging housing, inadequate infrastructure, displacement stress, risk of climate-induced extreme weather or environmental hazards, high energy costs and outdated Land-use and permitting policies and procedures.
The deadline for applications for this round of funding is October 15, 2024.
