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NMHC and NAA Send Letter to White House Highlighting Regulations for Review

Published 17 hours ago via Business Wire

As our nation continues to grapple with a significant housing shortage, the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) and National Apartment Association (NAA) today sent a letter to the White House today requesting a thorough review of 32 federal programs, rules and regulations at 10 different agencies. The goal of this review is to increase housing supply, lower costs and improve housing affordability.

Some regulations stray from their intended purpose, stifling innovation, and hampering housing production amid a critical housing supply shortage. The Trump administration made lowering the cost of housing a top priority, and a review of federal regulations on rental housing providers serves this goal and will make it easier to build more housing.

Research recently conducted by economists from MetroSight found that overregulation negatively impacts rental housing affordability by increasing operating costs and discouraging new construction, which restricts housing opportunities for individuals and families. Further, regulation imposed by all levels of government accounts for an average of 40.6 percent of multifamily development costs, according to research by the NMHC and the National Association of Home Builders.

“This past autumn, voters across the country made clear that lowering the cost of housing was a top priority for candidates up and down the ballot. Elected officials in both parties and at all levels of government understand that action needs to be taken to deal with the housing affordability challenges facing the nation,” said NMHC President Sharon Wilson Géno. “Regulatory reform is one step the administration can take to immediately support the building of badly needed housing and making it more affordable.”

“NAA members have made it clear: less regulation opens the door to providing more housing. Reviewing these federal compliance burdens would be a solid first step towards allowing the private sector to build and operate without the financial and administrative costs of overregulation,” said NAA President & CEO Robert Pinnegar.

For more than 27 years, the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) and the National Apartment Association (NAA) have partnered on behalf of America's apartment industry. Drawing on the knowledge and policy expertise of staff in Washington, D.C., as well as the advocacy power of 141 NAA state and local affiliated associations, NAA and NMHC provide a single voice for developers, owners and operators of multifamily rental housing. One-third of all Americans rent their housing, and 40 million of them live in an apartment home.

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