{"id":7688,"date":"2026-08-17T08:04:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T12:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/?p=7688"},"modified":"2026-08-17T08:04:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T12:04:20","slug":"thats-a-yes-in-our-back-yard-new-federal-law-cuts-builders-red-tape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/thats-a-yes-in-our-back-yard-new-federal-law-cuts-builders-red-tape\/","title":{"rendered":"That\u2019s a \u201cYes\u201d in Our Back Yard: New Federal Law Cuts Builders\u2019 Red Tape"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is now the law. It\u2019s winning praise for cutting red tape. And its $200 million innovation fund, while not exactly huge and yet to be funded, could stimulate local governments to ease their burdensome and restrictive rules. The new federal law speeds up reviews, updates borrowing rules, and views factory-built housing as a key component of creating affordability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does the construction industry see this playing out? Will it move the needle? Can we normalize affordable deeds<\/a> now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Lifting Up the YIMBY Spirit <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The federal law is nearly 400 pages long. And it does a lot to change restrictive federal policies. But it can\u2019t force local officials to make zoning changes. Local governments still make the rules that can help or hinder building and affordability projects. Deed holders have a say in how this turns out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many established deed holders don\u2019t want any more concentrated housing than they already have. Those who resist higher housing density, nicknamed the NIMBYs, have prevailed for a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tide is turning. Affordable housing has become an urgent political priority across the country. The passage of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act backs this up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, state governors and city mayors, together with armies of local administrators and planners, will need to act on the intentions of this law. And the new federal law, once it\u2019s properly funded, will reward them for doing so. The innovation fund will issue $250K+ in grant money to a town willing to make space for affordable housing by, for example, rethinking how much space should be allocated to parking. By extension, this will raise the profile and value of public transit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does your town lean more to the <\/em><\/strong>NIMBY or YIMBY<\/em><\/strong><\/a> side? Read up on where people stand on increasing the housing supply in their \u201cbackyards.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Local Building Codes Influence Home Prices<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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According to the National Association of Home Builders, red tape makes up more than a quarter of a new home\u2019s sale price. By red tape, the Association means the processes involved in getting the building plans approved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the local zoning commission votes against a plan, a given project can be stopped, or face long delays, even after major investments of resources. That adds to the costs of builders\u2019 work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even where everything works out, a good deal of time and expense goes into following the local building codes, getting through the inspections, and obtaining the permits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, the people trying to create more housing units are ordinary deed holders. And they are not equipped with a team to help them understand or push through all the red tape. That gets in the way of regular people who would like to add extra housing units to their properties. By limiting the housing supply, this, too, contributes to high housing prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new law will temper the various regulations that have pushed up costs and dragged out timelines for affordable housing. It does not order the states and towns to act. But it offers ideas, templates, and incentives. It will encourage more housing on less land. It will reward towns that adopt more user-friendly permitting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating a More Flexible Paradigm for Neighborhoods<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many procedural hoops are vital for health, safety, and environmental sustainability. But some restrictions get upheld with zero flexibility because the town has \u201calways done it this way\u201d or departments are short-staffed, or because change is shouted down in township meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is every administrative process needed for every project? No, says Congress, through the new federal law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And sometimes, similar reviews are required by separate agencies, when their people could be working together. There are<\/em> ways to make things less complicated, less costly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, in effect since July 2026, peels off red tape in the following ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n