U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson announced that the Department will lead a bus tour across the nation focused on removing barriers to affordable housing stock.
The “Driving Affordable Housing Across America” tour will kick off in Louisville, Ky., on Jan. 29 and make stops in various local communities for events and discussions focused on the need for increased affordable housing.
“In our efforts to alleviate the unnecessary regulatory barriers to housing construction and development, it’s important that we get out into local communities and hear directly from our fellow citizens who are grappling with rising housing prices and learn more about best practices to address them,” Secretary Carson said. “Families, businesses and all levels of government have concerns about the rising cost of housing, and this is an opportunity to bring those parties to the table for a discussion about how we can work together to fix the problem.”
Development of Executive Order on Housing Affordability
This bus tour is a part of the work Secretary Carson is undertaking as the Chair of the White House Council on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing. The Council’s eight Federal member agencies are engaging with governments at all levels—State, local, and Tribal—and other private-sector and non-profit stakeholders on ways to increase the housing supply so more Americans have access to affordable housing.
President Trump signed Executive Order 13878, “Establishing a White House Council on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing,” due to the fact that, for many Americans, the supply of available housing has not kept pace with the demand for housing by prospective renters and homebuyers, driving up housing costs.
Regulations are often necessary to protect the health and safety of American citizens, such as clean air, water or disaster mitigation practices. However, outdated and overly burdensome, time-consuming, and costly regulatory requirements and restrictions prolong the completion of new housing supply and those costs are shifted to the consumer, particularly in tight markets.
As the Executive Order states, “Increasing the supply of housing by removing overly burdensome regulatory barriers will reduce housing costs, boost economic growth, and provide more Americans with opportunities for economic mobility. In addition, it will strengthen American communities and the quality of services offered in them by allowing hardworking Americans to live in or near the communities they serve.”
For more information and details about tour stops, visit www.hud.gov/drivingaffordablehousing. Follow along on social media using the hashtag #DrivingAffordableHousing
