	Introduction

A variety of issues related to housing were active during the 115 th Congress, including issues related to housing finance, housing-related tax provisions, housing assistance and grant programs (including in response to presidentially declared major disasters), and actions undertaken by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as part of its efforts to review existing department regulations. Owner-Occupied Housing Markets and the Mortgage Market

Over the past few years, on a national level, markets for owner-occupied housing have generally been characterized by rising home prices, low inventory levels, housing starts that are increasing but remain relatively low by historical standards, and home buying activity that is beginning to return to pre-crisis levels. Owner-Occupied Housing Affordability

As house prices have been rising for several years on a national basis, and as mortgage interest rates have also begun to rise, concerns about the affordability of owner-occupied housing have increased. Rental Housing Markets

In the years since the housing market turmoil began, the homeownership rate has decreased while the percentage of renter households has correspondingly increased. In many cases, the increase in the rental housing supply has not kept up with the increase in rental housing demand. Housing Finance Issues in the 115th Congress

Several of the issues that were of interest during the 115 th Congress are related to the financing of housing. Financial "Regulatory Relief" Legislation and Housing

			Background

The financial crisis of 2007-2009 led to a variety of legislative and regulatory responses intended to address its perceived causes. 115-174 ), which became law in May 2018. Provisions of the act that modify mortgage-related requirements that were put in place after the housing market turmoil include the following: 
allowing certain mortgages originated and held in portfolio by small depository institutions to be considered "qualified mortgages" for the purposes of complying with the ability-to-repay rule; making changes to requirements related to certain property appraisals; exempting some banks and credit unions that make fewer than a particular number of mortgage loans from specified new reporting requirements under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA); providing grace periods for individuals working as mortgage originators to obtain the proper licensing to originate mortgages in their new positions when they move from banks to nonbanks or across state lines; expanding the circumstances under which manufactured home retailers and their employees can be excluded from the definition of mortgage originators, and therefore exempt from certain requirements that apply to mortgage originators, subject to specified conditions; and waiving the waiting period between receipt of particular mortgage-related disclosures and the mortgage closing when a borrower is offered a lower interest rate after initial receipt of the disclosures. In 2008, during the housing and mortgage market turmoil, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac entered voluntary conservatorship overseen by their regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). 115-97 ). The 114 th Congress considered a number of more-targeted reforms to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but did not actively consider comprehensive housing finance reform legislation. The level of the premiums charged by FHA is often a topic of interest. While most of the provisions of HOTMA affected HUD rental assistance programs, there were four provisions related to FHA's requirements for insuring mortgages on condominium units. Housing-Related Tax Issues in the 115th Congress

During the 115 th Congress, a number of housing-related tax provisions were modified or extended through different pieces of enacted legislation: a broad tax revision law that included changes to housing-related tax provisions, tax extenders legislation that extended temporary tax provisions related to housing, and an appropriations law that included changes to the low-income housing tax credit. 115-123 ). Recent Developments

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 ( P.L. 115-141 ) made two changes to the LIHTC program. Housing Assistance Issues in the 115th Congress

Some of the housing-related issues that were active in the 115 th Congress have to do with federal programs or activities that provide housing assistance to low-income households or other households with particular housing needs. In February 2018, Congress enacted the Bipartisan Budget Act of FY2018 (BBA;  P.L. These include the following:
P.L. (Some of these bills included other housing-related provisions as well.) HUD has since suspended, withdrawn, or considered modifying a variety of regulations and policy decisions. The rule was finalized in November 2016, at the end of the Obama Administration. Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing

			Background

The Fair Housing Act requires HUD to administer its programs in a way that affirmatively furthers fair housing, and statutes or regulations governing specific HUD programs also require that funding recipients affirmatively further fair housing (AFFH). Recent Developments

On June 20, 2018, HUD published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register seeking public comment on whether the 2013 disparate impact regulations should be amended in light of the Inclusive Communities decision.
A variety of housing-related issues were active during the 115th Congress. These issues included topics related to housing finance, tax provisions related to housing, housing assistance and grant programs administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and regulatory review efforts underway at HUD. In some cases, the 115th Congress considered or passed legislation related to certain housing issues, such as mortgage-related provisions enacted as part of broader financial "regulatory relief" legislation and particular housing-related tax provisions. In other cases, Congress conducted oversight or otherwise expressed interest in actions taken by HUD or other entities involved in housing, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Many of the housing-related topics that were of interest during the 115th Congress are ongoing issues, though some involved particular actions that took place during the 115th Congress. Issues of interest during the Congress included the following:
Housing finance issues included changes to certain mortgage-related requirements and other housing provisions included in broader financial legislation that became law in May 2018. Congress also expressed ongoing interest in certain issues related to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA): (1) a forthcoming final rule on FHA's requirements for insuring mortgages on condominiums and (2) the level of the mortgage insurance premiums charged by FHA. Comprehensive housing finance reform that would address the status of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is also an ongoing topic of interest, although the 115th Congress did not actively consider comprehensive housing finance reform legislation. Tax issues included changes to housing-related tax provisions in the tax revision law enacted at the end of 2017 (P.L. 115-97); extensions of other, temporary housing-related tax provisions through 2017 by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-123); and changes to the low-income housing tax credit in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (P.L. 115-141). Housing assistance issues included considerations related to HUD appropriations, ongoing initiatives or proposed changes to HUD rental assistance programs, committee consideration of legislation to reauthorize the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA), issues related to the housing response to presidentially declared major disasters, and a variety of introduced bills that were meant to address housing affordability issues in various ways. HUD began a variety of regulatory review efforts in keeping with Executive Order 13777, which directed federal agencies to evaluate existing regulations and identify opportunities for reform. Specific HUD actions included suspending a rule related to small-area fair market rents (the suspension has since been voided by a preliminary court injunction); initiating a broad review of manufactured housing regulations; suspending certain regulations governing how HUD funding recipients must comply with the requirement to affirmatively further fair housing; and publishing an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking public comment on whether its regulations related to disparate impact and the Fair Housing Act should be amended.
Housing and mortgage market conditions provide important context for these issues, although housing markets are generally local in nature and national housing market indicators do not necessarily accurately reflect conditions in specific communities. Generally speaking, owner-occupied housing markets in recent years have been characterized by rising house prices, relatively low levels of housing starts and housing inventory, and relatively strong home sales. Rising house prices combined with rising mortgage interest rates have raised concerns about the affordability of buying a home, although interest rates remain low by historical standards. Rental housing markets have also raised affordability concerns. Nearly 21 million renter households are considered to be cost burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their incomes on rent. The share of households who rent, rather than own, their homes has increased in the years since the housing market turmoil that began around 2007, contributing to lower rental vacancy rates and increasing rents. Increases in household income in recent years have generally not kept pace with increases in house prices or rents, contributing to affordability concerns.