Weeks after Congress passed a major federal housing bill into law, state and local experts continue to dissect the fine print while expressing tempered optimism about its long-term potential to help alleviate an affordability crisis.
Called the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, the law – which went into effect in July without President Donald Trump's signature – has been heralded nationwide.
The Terner Center for Housing Innovation hailed the law as the "most significant housing legislation in a generation."
While acknowledging that the various aspects of the law are unlikely to change the housing game on their own, the Terner Center praised the legislation for setting the stage for future, bigger reforms.
Indeed, local advocates noted that the mere passage of a massive piece of housing legislation with such broad bipartisan support in this current corrosive political climate is something to celebrate – and a sign that Washington is finally listening.
"People are crying out for help," said Jon Thaxton, director of policy and advocacy at the Gulf Coast Community Foundation and a longtime advocate for affordable housing in the Sarasota region.
Thaxton said the fact that D.C. lawmakers were able to craft a housing bill "sends a much-needed message of assurance to American citizens who are looking for housing affordability that they care, and they're doing something."
Thaxton said he was particularly encouraged by the law's expansion of funding opportunities for the construction of affordable housing. For instance, it raises limit levels on how much banks can invest in affordable housing.
Incentivizes smaller mortgages.
Helps finance loans for home improvements and repairs.
Makes it easier for community banks to offer mortgages and construction loans.
All of these end results, according to research, could particularly benefit single moms and communities of color – and it could also make affordable homes more accessible.
Thaxton also praised the part of the law that restricts big investors from buying up single-family homes if they already directly or indirectly own at least 350.
"Is it going to be a game changer? No," Thaxton said of the law.
"Everything requires a little more contribution, and it's through incremental gains where game-changing happens."
William Russell, president and CEO of the Sarasota Housing Authority, said one feature that might lead to quick results is the law's allowance of local governments to use a portion of community development block grants for the construction of affordable housing.
"That could increase housing units," Russell said.
"I think there is a lot in there," Russell added about the law, "and I've always said this about affordable housing, that there is not a silver bullet. You need a lot of tools in the toolshed to attack this problem."
Other benefits of the legislation are less visible to the general public, Russell said.
For instance, he noted, the law removes some administrative barriers regarding the duplication of inspections of affordable units that are financed through tax credits and that receive Section 8 housing vouchers.
The delays caused by such red tape are major headaches for both landlords losing out on rent and desperate families facing deadlines on the use of their vouchers.
"Speed is of the essence," Russell said.
But while the National Conference of State Legislatures points out that a major focus of the law is to increase housing supply by streamlining federal regulations, the Urban Institute found that the legislation assigns almost three dozen new programs, regulations and studies to HUD.
At the same time, however, it doesn't provide any additional money for HUD operations – despite the fact that remaining employees are already struggling with core tasks after major reductions over the past year, according to national housing advocates.
What's more, as reporters at The New York Times showed, even as the federal government pushes for a big increase in home construction, the Trump administration's crackdown on immigrants is targeting the very population that overwhelmingly makes up the construction industry's workforce.
Already the industry is facing a shortage of 300,000 laborers.
But the law's major shortfall, says Sarasota businessman Dan Dobrowolski, is that it fails to override what he calls the biggest barriers to affordable housing: restrictive zoning and inflexible local officials.
Dobrowolski and his company Escape Tampa Bay have established lush communities of RV "tiny homes" in east Hillsborough County after giving up on getting them approved in Sarasota County.
Aimed at young professionals, teachers, nurses, retired residents and others, Dobrowolski's proposal ran up against zoning restrictions – and what he considered a rigid environment among local policymakers.
"It changes nothing about zoning," Dobrowolski said of the ROAD to Housing Act.
"Will anything change in Sarasota? No. Nothing. Zero."
However, the law attempts to encourage voluntary zoning changes and other reforms by local governments through competitive grant programs and other funding mechanisms.
Kody Glazer, chief legal and policy director of the Florida Housing Coalition, said he thinks this is promising. Glazer and his team were the authors of a report released last year about the "region's deep affordable housing shortage."
Glazer was optimistic about the new funding programs under the law, as well as reforms on manufactured homes and authorization of the use of community development and disaster dollars for affordable housing.
"There's a lot to like in the ROAD to Housing Act," Glazer said.
And the incentives, Glazer said, could make an impact in communities that act with urgency on affordable housing.
"Local governments that are proactive about allowing more homes stand to get more federal funding," Glazer said.
"In the Sarasota region, that means if local governments make it easier to build affordable homes of all shapes and sizes, they position themselves to win those grant dollars."
This story comes from a partnership between the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. Saundra Amrhein covers the Season of Sharing campaign, along with issues surrounding housing, utilities, child care and transportation in the area. She can be reached at [email protected].
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota housing experts hope new law creates more affordable homes