The HOME Reform Act of 2025 proposes key updates to the Federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program, aimed at making project delivery faster, simpler, and more flexible.
In Context: Representative Mike Flood (R-NE) has been collecting feedback on how to improve the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, specifically outlining what he calls the “Four Horsemen of the Housing Apocalypse”: federal requirements that drive up costs across all affordable housing including environmental reviews, Build America Buy America (BABA), Davis Bacon, and Section 3.
Representative Flood summarized the bill in a LinkedIn post with key modifications, including:
- Broader Income Eligibility
- Expands potential tenant pools from “low-income families”(up to 80 percent AMI) by adding “workforce-income families” (up to 100 percent of AMI) to eligible populations.
- Faster, Simpler Compliance
- If a project includes fewer than 50 units using HOME funds, it is now exempt from Davis-Bacon wage requirements and Section 3 hiring mandates—a significant increase from the previous 12-unit threshold.
- The Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act shall not apply to units using HOME funds.
- Streamlined Environmental Reviews
- Prevents a second review due to the addition or subtraction of other sources of federal assistance to a project; and
- NEPA exemptions for infill, rehab, or small new construction (if less than 20 units use HOME funds in the project).
- Infrastructure Funding in Small Jurisdictions
- Areas that do not receive assistance from CDBG grants can now use HOME funds to pay for infrastructure, such as roads, water/sewer lines, and utility hookups next to HOME or LIHTC projects.
- Greater Local Flexibility
- Local governments won’t be restricted in choosing between rehabilitation, new construction, or other eligible uses of HOME funds unless federal law specifically limits it.
- More Time, Fewer Bottlenecks
- Local governments will have 36 months (instead of 24) to use HOME Funds before they expire; and
- Unused CHDO set-asides can be reallocated without CHDO involvement after three years.
- Affordable Housing Qualifications Modernized
- Units occupied by Section 8 voucher holders are considered affordable housing as long as rent and contributions align with PHA guidelines;
- HOME homeownership cap raised from 95 to 110 percent of median price; and
- Allows shared equity models (e.g., land trusts, limited equity co-ops) to maintain long-term affordability.
What’s Next: The bill will be featured as part of a broader hearing, “HOME 2.0: Modern Solutions to the Housing Shortage,” rescheduled for 2 p.m. today in the Housing and Insurance Committee, chaired by Representative Flood. You can watch the livestream here.
