Chelsea Ross, Executive Director
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act marks one of the most significant federal housing policy advancements we have seen in decades.
Housing has increasingly become one of the few issues where leaders across the political spectrum agree that what we have been doing isn’t working. Communities all around the country are struggling with rising housing costs, too few homes, aging housing stock, and regulatory barriers that make it difficult to build enough housing to meet the demand. After years of discussion, Congress has come together to pass a bipartisan package that acknowledges those challenges and provides states and communities with some impactful new tools to address them.
The roots of our housing crisis have been decades in the making, and we know it will take sustained commitment at every level of government to reverse the course. This legislation is meaningful progress and provides a stronger foundation for the work we have ahead.
The Partnership celebrates this moment alongside fellow housing advocates, local leaders, policymakers, developers, lenders, and researchers across the country who have spent years making the case that housing is fundamental to strong communities and a strong economy.
We are especially grateful to our partners at the National Low Income Housing Coalition and our colleagues throughout the New England Housing Network. Their persistent federal and state advocacy and coalition building along with their willingness to work across regions helped build the momentum that made this possible. Housing policy is strongest when it reflects both national priorities and individual state experiences, and advocates across New England played an important role in bringing these perspectives to the table.
What matters most for Connecticut?
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is expansive in scope; several of its provisions stand out as particularly important for Connecticut.
One of the most significant sections is the Community Investment and Prosperity Act which raises the cap on bank public welfare investments. This includes the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), which is the country’s primary tool for financing affordable housing development. The legislation permanently increases 9 percent Housing Credit allocations and lowers the bond financing threshold for 4 percent credits along with other changes that will allow more affordable housing developments to move forward. Practically, this provision should make more money available for affordable housing development.
Like many other states, LIHTC has been the foundation of affordable housing production in Connecticut for decades. Financing has become increasingly difficult as construction costs, interest rates, and insurance costs continue to rise. While these changes won’t eliminate cost increases, they should make more developments financially feasible.
The legislation also invests in reducing barriers that slow or prevent housing production. Provisions that provide competitive planning grants, incentives to modernize permitting and zoning processes, support for adaptive reuse, transit-oriented development, and expanded opportunities for manufactured housing all move beyond financing. They support communities with tools to plan for growth and remove unnecessary obstacles that make housing harder and more expensive to build.
Those priorities closely mirror many of the conversations on repeat here in Connecticut. Across the state, communities are grappling with how local regulations, infrastructure, permitting timelines, and pain points in the development processes affect housing production. This move on the federal level reinforces the work underway in Connecticut and provides additional resources to support the communities willing to tackle them.
Another notable aspect of the Act is its recognition that preserving existing affordable housing is just as important as building new homes. Connecticut has thousands of deed-restricted affordable homes that will face affordability expirations over the coming years. Preserving those homes is often faster and more cost-effective than replacing them. The Act includes several provisions that are intended to strengthen preservation financing and help ensure existing affordable housing remains available for future generations.
The legislation also takes meaningful steps to expand financing and construction opportunities for manufactured housing. Manufactured housing is an underutilized solution of the housing continuum. Connecticut has relatively little manufactured housing today compared to other states, but modular construction has potential to become an increasingly important affordability strategy for us, especially for to create additional homeownership opportunities at price points that are increasingly difficult to achieve through traditional construction.
These are just a few of the Act’s provisions, but they reflect an important shift in federal housing policy. Rather than relying on a single strategy, the Act recognizes that increasing housing supply requires improvements across financing, planning, preservation, infrastructure, and local implementation.
More homes is a big part of the solution, but not the entire solution
One of the strengths of the legislation is its clear focus on increasing housing production. Connecticut needs more homes. Years of underproduction have contributed to rising rents, escalating home prices, workforce shortages, and fewer housing choices for residents at every stage of life. Increasing our supply of homes is one of the most important long-term strategies for improving affordability and expanding opportunity. At the same time, increasing supply alone will not address every family’s housing challenge.
Many Connecticut households continue to face housing costs that far exceed what they can reasonably afford. Older adults living on fixed incomes, people with disabilities, households experiencing homelessness, and families with the lowest incomes will continue to rely on rental assistance, supportive housing, and existing deeply affordable homes. Stable housing supports broader outcomes for children and families: educational success, health, financial security, and long-term opportunity. Those investments remain just as important today as they were before passage of this legislation.
As we continue working toward Connecticut’s housing future, we hope the national conversation about expanding housing supply continues alongside conversations about ensuring that housing investments create opportunity for everyone, including those who continue to face the greatest barriers to stable housing. Connecticut needs to build more homes, preserve the affordable homes we already have, and continue investing in the people and families for whom the market alone will never provide an affordable option.
Moving from Progress to Impact
One of the most encouraging aspects of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is what it signals. Housing policy is often viewed as a local issue. This Act reflects the growing recognition that housing affects workforce development, economic competitiveness, public health, transportation, education, and the long-term strength of our communities at the local, state, and national level. That broader understanding helped bring together an unusually diverse coalition in support of this legislation. The passage of the Act required bipartisan leadership, sustained advocacy, thoughtful compromise, and years of persistence from organizations working at every level.
Now comes the fun part: implementation.
Legislation at the federal level creates opportunity, but states and communities ultimately determine how much impact those opportunities have. Connecticut is well positioned to build on the foundation of this Act. We have strong local leaders, experienced practitioners, engaged advocates, and a growing community level understanding that expanding housing opportunity benefits all of us.
The Partnership looks forward to continuing to work alongside our partners across Connecticut, throughout New England, and across the country on implementation. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is a starting line not a finish line, but it is a critical step toward a future where more Connecticut residents have access to safe, stable, and affordable homes, and where every community has the opportunity to be part of Connecticut’s housing future.
