The ROAD to Housing Act is proposed legislation that could address an array of housing challenges in the US. It seeks to address a range of issues, including financial literacy, access to housing, regulatory flexibility, homelessness, and promoting opportunity. In this summary, we discuss the potential impacts of the proposed policies based on data and evidence and recommend additional ways Congress could meet the bill’s policy goals.

Why This Matters

Housing is more unaffordable than it has been in recent memory. Families across the country are experiencing increased housing costs and greater housing instability. To address this crisis, federal leadership is needed to increase the housing supply and help households attain and sustain housing.

Key Takeaways

Our recommendations for Congress include the following:

• Use evidence-based strategies to support housing, including expanding financing options for manufactured housing and simplifying the requirements to use federal funds for affordable housing.
• Preserve programs that are proven to work, including those for foreclosure prevention and homelessness prevention and reduction.
• Study solutions that need more research, including how to address the barriers to increasing small-dollar lending, how to ensure the effectiveness of the Rental Assistance Demonstration and Moving to Work programs, and how to better use Opportunity Zones to support housing.

How We Did It

We pulled from prior Urban research on these issues to provide our analysis on the proposed policies.