NHC’s Policy Priorities

Defending Our American Home Since 1931

The National Housing Conference is a diverse continuum of affordable housing stakeholders that convene and collaborate through dialogue, advocacy, research, and education, to develop equitable solutions that serve our common interest – an America where everyone is able to live in a quality, affordable home in a thriving community.

Affordable Housing Production and Preservation

No single factor impacts housing affordability more than the law of supply and demand. The supply of housing is inadequate in nearly every community, and the United States is millions of units short of what we need. NHC is committed to addressing affordable housing production and preservation shortages of single-family and multifamily units throughout the country. We strongly support the enactment of the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act and the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act to help address this issue. Expanding resources for developers of affordable housing, reducing barriers to producing and preserving affordable housing, like exclusionary zoning, development fees on affordable housing, and removing other regulatory impediments to increasing supply are key components of our approach.

Community Development and Economic Development 

Vibrant communities are an essential part of any successful housing strategy. Programs that support funding schools, community facilities, employment opportunity, and economic development have a proven record of success to help communities leverage their housing strategies to create dynamic, healthy places to live. The best way to drive the impact of community development tools is through reliable adequate funding, including tax credit-driven programs to maximize private sector capital.

Mitigation, Resilience, and Insurance

Effective housing policy incorporates building practices and disaster mitigation strategies that ensure homes are resilient to catastrophic weather events. Strategies include but are not limited to residential property insurance reform, adequate resources that invest in housing and infrastructure resilience, developing new approaches to disaster and property insurance, and empowering housing developers, advocates, renters, and homeowners to better engage with environmental initiatives that improve the quality and safety of homes.

Homeownership Expansion and Fairness in Lending

Narrowing and ultimately closing the homeownership gap is essential to the future prosperity of all Americans and the growth of mortgage lending markets. Concentrated efforts to better assist first generation, Black, Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Latino, and Native American national origins are needed to effectively and sustainably expand homeownership opportunities. Tools include but are not limited to Special Purpose Credit Programs, downpayment assistance, and investment in historically disinvested communities. NHC’s leadership role in the Black Homeownership Collaborative and fair housing practices are key components of this work.

Health and Housing

Safe and stable housing is one of the most important social determinants of health, but federal policies on healthcare and housing are inefficiently siloed. Addressing the larger health and behavioral needs of communities through healthy housing initiatives has an outsized impact on the population’s health as a whole. Effective change must engage the federal Departments of Health and Human Services as well as Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in recognizing housing as a healthcare solution. NHC is committed to engaging with healthcare partners to address the changing needs of health and housing, including finding housing solutions for seniors as the population ages.

Housing Security and Sustainability

Efforts to promote affordable housing and homeownership are ultimately only as effective as their sustainability. Lessons learned from programs during the COVID-19 pandemic and other disasters, including more loss mitigation options and flexible funding of emergency assistance, should be incorporated into long-term sustainability solutions, including a permanent authorization of resources. NHC is committed to finding strategies to keep people in their homes and avoid the long-term negative impacts of displacement on renters and homeowners.

Homelessness

Meeting the housing challenges of families and individuals experiencing homelessness is fundamental to realizing NHC’s vision of an America where everyone is able to live in a quality, affordable home in a thriving community. Adequate funding, good policy and evidence-based program design are required to move people experiencing homelessness into permanent housing. Promoting affordable housing as a strategy to reduce the risk of homelessness through rental assistance and increasing the supply of units affordable to extremely low-income households is vital to resolving the homelessness crisis. In addition, loss mitigation policies that help borrowers avoid or recover from delinquency or default on government-backed loans, as well as other measures that can help prevent homelessness, are critical elements of housing security.

Regulatory Reform

The U.S. has a diverse set of regulations that contribute to the overall housing landscape and are designed in a manner that greatly impacts the availability of affordable housing. Ensuring that the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Treasury, Agriculture, and Veterans Affairs are maximizing their capability to foster affordable housing and invest in communities through coordinated efforts provide large-scale opportunities to address housing challenges. Regulatory and statutory improvements to the Housing Choice Voucher, Capital Magnet Fund, HOME Investment Partnership Program, and Opportunity Zones are essential to optimizing the impact of every federal dollar invested in housing. Resolution of the status of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac must be accomplished in a manner that preserves the stability, liquidity, and affordable focus of the housing finance system.

Technology and Innovation

Technical innovations help to better identify profound housing needs, drive the tools necessary to ensure a vibrant homeownership market, empower consumers to help meet their specific needs, and better support regulatory and enforcement efforts in combatting housing discrimination. It is crucial that as we continue fostering ways to create housing opportunities, the relevant agencies have the technology they need to better innovate, expand, and regulate housing. Key to this goal is the use and sharing of data and the continued adaptation of Artificial Intelligence and machine learning while remaining cognizant of unintended consequences of new technology. Investments should also be made to fortify the cybersecurity of federal lending and housing programs, as well as to fortify the resilience of private sector counterparties and program participants. Where possible, requirements of various government programs or agencies should be aligned to reduce redundancies and unnecessary contradictions.