![\"Homes](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SL_Natomas-250215.JPG\" "\\"Homes")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Homes rise at the new Terrace Park development in North Natomas on Feb. 15, 2025.<\/p>\n
SCOTT LORENZO<\/p>\n
Special to The Bee<\/p>\n
Behind all the attention focused on President Donald Trump\u2019s refusal to sign it, a new federal housing law called the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is heavy on programs to make it easier to build homes, help homeless veterans get off the streets and speed up disaster funding for communities hit by fires and floods.<\/p>\n
There is no big pile of money to implement the new federal housing law, and it will be up to future Congresses to fund it. That\u2019s a red flag.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also easy to be cynical as members of Congress applaud themselves for passing the new federal housing bill, as if doing their jobs was a momentous act.<\/p>\n
But news stories about Trump\u2019s petulance and weakness hid a surprise: The 21st Century Road to Housing Act contains programs that could help California.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe impact from ROAD likely won\u2019t be felt for a couple of years, as developers decide how to navigate it,\u201d said David Garcia, deputy director of policy at UC Berkeley\u2019s Terner Center for Housing Innovation<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the long term, it will have a positive impact.\u201d<\/p>\n Here are six under-radar-programs within the new federal housing law that could make a difference in California\u2019s housing crisis, if they are supported and funded:<\/p>\n Cities and counties can use CDBG funds to build affordable housing<\/p>\n Under Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rules, until now cities could use Community Development Block Grants<\/a> to purchase property, rehab buildings, add roads, sewer and water systems and other infrastructure and finance economic development projects \u2014but not to build houses.<\/p>\n That\u2019s changing. Under the ROAD Act, in the future 20% of CDBG<\/a> money can be used to build affordable units.<\/p>\n That has significant potential; the city of Sacramento received $4.6 million in CDBG funds in 2025-25; Fresno received $7 million; Modesto, $1.8 million; and San Luis Obispo County (including cities) $1.6 million.<\/p>\n They can be docked (or rewarded) depending on how many housing units are built<\/p>\n California requires cities and counties to zone for a certain number of additional housing units of various types, from acutely low income to above-moderate. But there is no mandate that the homes actually be built.<\/p>\n Federal legislation offers an incentive to certain jurisdictions that improve their rate of housing construction. They can receive CDBG bonuses for accelerated home building and small reductions if they fall behind. Sacramento and Fresno stand to benefit, based on the number of new units that have been built.<\/p>\n Manufactured housing no longer has to be \u2018mobile\u2019<\/p>\n In what Vox called \u201can absurdly simple fix\u201d<\/a> the law does away with an obsolete requirement that manufactured homes be built on permanent chassis, so they can be moved from place to place. That rarely happens anymore.<\/p>\n This particular bill was introduced by Sen. Alex Padilla of California. Good for him, but why did take it take 50 years?<\/p>\n Help for homeless veterans<\/p>\n In another bill from<\/a> Padilla<\/a>, veterans receiving disability benefits will no longer have to count that as income when they apply for federal housing assistance, making it easier for them to qualify.<\/p>\n Disaster relief for stricken communities could be expedited \u2014 at least for a while<\/p>\n