The Biden administration on Thursday announced further steps to lower housing costs and boost supply, part of the economic agenda that President Joe Biden will highlight as he seeks a second term.
The administration is taking a “comprehensive federal approach,” White House domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden told reporters, toward improving affordability for both homeowners and renters. The newly announced plan will leverage three separate areas toward achieving this goal: Easing land use and zoning rules, expanding financing and promoting the conversion of commercial to residential space.
As office space needs have shifted in the aftermath of the pandemic, the administration is incentivizing efforts to convert commercial properties to residential homes.
“Our work will involve identifying areas and methods where federal funding, including climate-focused federal resources, can be used to support these conversions,” Biden economic adviser Daniel Hornung said, pointing to funding from the Inflation Reduction Act’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund as one such funding mechanism.
Additionally, he said, “The General Services Administration, which manages much of the federal footprint of buildings, will launch an effort to identify and market surplus federal properties that represent the best opportunities for commercial to residential conversions.”
To address restrictive land use and zoning policies – including those that prohibit multifamily housing development, among other issues, the administration is looking to incentivize municipalities to lift some of those restrictions by “incorporating land use and zoning into the grant criteria for the historic Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods program and also into the Economic Development Administration’s grant programs,” said Hornung.
Additionally, the Department of Housing and…
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