Revitalizing America’s Housing Act

Tax Benefits for Opportunity Zones: The bill allows qualifying ordinary income to be included in special rules for investments in opportunity zones, which could encourage investment in these areas (Section 102).

Increased Homeownership Benefits: The amount of gain excluded from the sale of a principal residence is increased (from $250,000 to $500,000 for individuals and $500,000 to $1,000,000 for married couples), which helps long-term homeowners (Section 105).

Support for Public Servants: The bill expands housing assistance to include firefighters and emergency medical technicians, providing specific rental payment rules for these families (Section 202).

Expanded Homeownership Programs: It expands the Good Neighbor Next Door Sales Program to include members of the Armed Forces, firefighters, and law enforcement officers (Section 203).

Benefits for Volunteer First Responders: Qualified volunteer first responders can receive income deductions and qualify for discounted home prices through specific programs (Section 204).

Improved Veteran Support: The bill excludes service-connected disability compensation from income calculations when determining eligibility for various housing programs (Section 205).

Private Investment Incentives: A new "neighborhood homes credit" is created to attract private investment to build or rehabilitate owner-occupied homes in qualified census tracts (Section 207).

Housing Land Utilization: Local governments may petition to use unused federal property for the construction of affordable housing (Section 208).

Improved Health Standards: The bill mandates research into the health effects of indoor residential mold and creates a mapping tool to identify impacted areas (Section 304).

Protection from Lead Hazards: The bill requires annual risk assessments and action plans for covered housing to address lead-based paint and lead service lines (Section s 305).

Economic Independence via Moving to Work: The "Moving to Work" program is expanded to help families achieve economic independence through job training and educational programs (Section 501).

Improved Counselor Quality: The Secretary must now require organizations to employ individuals who are certified in sustainable homeownership and can pass required examinations (Section 601(a)(1)(B)(ii)). This aims to ensure borrowers receive competent counseling.

Accountability for Counselors: A mechanism is established to suspend the certification of individuals whose borrowers have default rates exceeding the local average (Section 601(a)(1)(B)(ii)(iii)). This could protect borrowers from poor counseling services.

Targeted Support for Renters and those in Foreclosure: The Secretary is required to set aside 40 percent of funds for organizations providing rental or pre-foreclosure counseling (Section 601(a)(1)(B)(F)).

Geographic Inclusion: Grant recipients are required to be geographically diverse, including organizations that serve both urban and rural areas (Section 601(a)(1)(B)(G)).

Regulatory Constraints on Transformers: The bill prevents the Secretary from finalizing certain efficiency rules for distribution transformers, which could impact electrical infrastructure (Section 103).

Mandatory Land Use Reporting: Recipients of certain community development grants must submit plans to track and implement specific land use policies, such as high-density zoning or reducing lot sizes (Section 104).

Increased Inspection Requirements: The bill calls for a study to ensure public housing agencies inspect every dwelling unit each year, which may impact agency workloads (Section 302).

Loss of Funding for Squatting Jurisdictions: Local government units that permit squatting or confer special rights to squatters may be prohibited from receiving certain federal funds (Section 406).

Loss of Federal Mortgage Support: Local governments that permit squatting may be prohibited from receiving federal support for residential mortgages (Section 406).

Recapture of Funds in Public Housing: Under the Moving to Work program, agencies may have to implement specific budget metrics and handle the transition of funds (Section 501).

Mandatory Counseling Requirements: Purchasers of residential real property securing certain covered mortgage loans must participate in prepurchase housing counseling (Section 601(b)(2)).

Mandatory Counseling for Delinquent Borrowers: Borrowers who are 30 days or more delinquent on payments for a covered mortgage loan are required to participate in foreclosure mitigation counseling (Section 601(b)(3)).