Congress·In Committee·H.R. 8854

Habitable Housing Conversion Pilot Program Act of 2026

New Loans for Converting Basements into Rental Units

May 15·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

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Next up: A house committee

This bill is in the early stages of the legislative process and was sent to the House Committee on Financial Services on May 14, 2026. The committee must decide whether to review or advance the bill, but no further action has occurred since it was introduced. It is currently stalled because most bills do not receive a committee vote.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Unlikely to pass

While housing is a major national concern, most bills introduced in the House never make it to a final vote. This bill currently lacks broad bipartisan support needed to move quickly.

How we got here

This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.

Reintroduced
Reintroduced from H.R. 10294 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
H.R. 10294 (118th) →

Key Points

This bill creates a five-year test program to help homeowners get loans for turning their basements into legal apartments. The government would insure these mortgages through the Department of Housing and Urban Development to make it easier for banks to lend money for these projects.
The program is for people who live in their own homes and want to create a rental unit in their basement. Up to 150,000 homeowners could participate in this program across the country.
Many cities have a housing shortage, and homeowners often struggle to pay for the expensive renovations needed to make a basement safe and legal. This program aims to create more affordable places to live while helping homeowners earn extra income.
Any basement apartment built under this program must meet all local building codes and safety rules. The government will also work with weather and emergency agencies to make sure these units are safe from floods or other natural disasters.
After five years, the government will study the results to see if the program worked well. They will then decide if it should become a permanent part of federal housing policy or if it needs changes.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

May 15, 2026House

Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

May 15, 2026

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

No votes, news coverage, or related bills recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Habitable Housing Conversion Pilot Program Act of 2026

Bill NumberHR 8854

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(1)

D: 1

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.