Legislative Agenda

Faith in Housing Act

Congressional sponsors: Representative Scott Peters (D-CA 50) and Representative Chuck Edwards (R-NC 11)

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Background

  • As of 2023, the U.S. was 3.78M homes short of meeting housing need.
  • As religious patterns in the U.S. evolve, some faith-based institutions are grappling with financial instability.
  • Faith -based institutions own nearly 40,000 acres of land in the U.S., including parking lots, offices, and empty spaces that have development potential.

Despite owning tens of thousands of acres of land, faith based organizations are unable to develop affordable housing to meet a growing national need due to restrictive land use and zoning regulations. This inability to build also prevents them from leveraging their underutilized property to address their own financial instability.

Legislative Solution

To enable faith-based institutions to provide housing on their own land, this Act will:

  • Enable the development of affordable housing on church property
    • Properties must remain affordable for a minimum of 30 years and uphold health and safety standards.
    • Projects allow 5% of units to be set aside for staff and clergy
  • Provide Protection for States and Localities
    • Allows municipalities to enforce building codes and regulations related to site-specific hazards like flooding and wildfires.

Endorsers List

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