Removing Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Home Construction

Key Points

• Trump is directing federal agencies to review and roll back environmental regulations—covering stormwater, wetlands, and water quality standards—that add costs and delays to home construction. The Army Corps of Engineers and EPA are specifically tasked with revising Clean Water Act requirements.
• The order targets energy-efficiency and water-use standards for new housing, including manufactured homes, directing multiple agencies to eliminate requirements deemed too costly. This could lower upfront building costs but may increase long-term energy bills for homeowners.
• Federal environmental and historic preservation reviews for housing projects will be streamlined through new categorical exclusions under NEPA and reduced requirements under the National Historic Preservation Act, covering not just homes but supporting infrastructure like roads and sewers.
• Within 60 days, HUD must publish recommended best practices for state and local governments, including capping permitting timelines, allowing by-right single-family home development, and removing barriers to manufactured and modular housing.
• The order encourages removing local restrictions on building outside urban centers—such as urban growth boundaries and growth moratoria—and promotes suburban and exurban development, signaling a push toward more sprawl-style housing.
• Treasury and HUD will work to align Opportunity Zone tax incentives and New Markets Tax Credits with single-family home construction in low-income communities, potentially channeling more investment into underserved areas.