‘Homes Act’ would create new federal Housing Development Authority, modeled after NYS Social Housing Development Authority legislation
WASHINGTON D.C. – Today Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) and Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) unveiled major legislation to tackle the housing crisis at a press conference in D.C., joined by New York State Assemblymember Emily Gallagher and New York City tenants and cooperators. The Homes Act would offer an alternative to a market dominated by corporations and investors with deep pockets, leveling the playing field for working Americans who just want a quality, affordable, safe place they can be proud to call home.
The legislation is modeled after the Social Housing Development Authority bill in the New York State legislature, introduced by State Senator Cordell Cleare and State Assembly Member Emily Gallagher in February.
The Homes Act would establish a housing development authority within the Department of Housing and Urban Development to function as a public bank and developer that will build millions of permanently affordable homes, stabilize rents and provide more homeownership opportunities. The authority will focus on renters and homebuyers, giving Americans the freedom and opportunity to build the life they want. This bill provides flexible options to fit the needs of communities – urban, suburban, rural, Tribal – across the country.
The New York Social Housing Development Authority (NY SHDA) is a bold new program to transform NYS’s housing for the public good – the way that union-built housing, federally funded housing, and Mitchell-Lama did in previous generations. The Homes Act would enhance the capacity of a NY SHDA to build, acquire, and renovate permanently affordable housing for public and community ownership, using 100% union labor.
With a $5 billion initial capitalization, the NY SHDA could create 26,000 high quality, affordable, green, union-built homes, through a combination of new construction and acquisitions and renovations. The NY SHDA will create housing for every New Yorker, from middle class public sector workers and nurses to low-income and homeless New Yorkers.
The NY SHDA has the backing of the Housing Justice for All coalition, NYC Building Construction Trades Council, United Federation of Teachers, New York Working Families Party and others.
New York has a long history of building high-quality social housing, such the Mitchell-Lama Program, which built Co-Op City in the Bronx. The SHDA would build on that legacy, as well as look to the examples of effective social housing programs in Vienna and in Maryland.
81% of New York City voters support social housing, and 60% support a social housing approach over a private market incentives approach to the housing crisis, according to a 2023 Data for Progress poll.
Social Housing is an umbrella term for housing that is permanently affordable, protected from market forces, and prioritizes public community ownership and democratic control. Examples of social housing include limited equity co-operatives, publicly owned rentals, and community land trusts.
At the press conference, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said, “The housing market has grown increasingly speculative. And it got a lot tougher for working families across the country to find a decent home. Wall Street started to see houses as slot machines and started gambling on one of the most foundational parts of life for the American people…We are here today because another way is possible, and we are here to make it happen…This country is staring down a full blown housing crisis, a crisis where affordable housing is slipping further out of reach, where nonprofit housing is scarce, and where Wall Street and Corporate America’s greed is perpetuating our despair….We do not have to live like this. We need to put homes back in hands ofthe people and reclaim the home as a basic human right, not a commodity for profit first. A home should be a sanctuary, a place of stability and security, not a source of endless stress. The Homes Act offers a real solution to the scale and severity of this crisis.”
New York State Senator Cordell Cleare, lead Senate sponsor of the NY SHDA bill said: “People across the country are crying out for affordable housing, and now we have a powerful solution: the national Homes Act, modeled on New York’s Social Housing Development Authority bill. We are moving beyond the failed, developer-centric housing policies of the past that have prioritized private greed over community stability. As a lifelong resident of Harlem, I’ve witnessed firsthand how these policies fueled gentrification and displaced Black communities. Investing in social housing will ensure that families can remain in the communities they love, with homes that stay 100% affordable across generations.”
New York State Assemblymember Emily Gallagher, lead Assembly Sponsor of the NY SHDA bill said: “We’re bringing our vision of housing for the public good to the national level. The private market has continually failed to provide the affordable, sustainable housing that working families urgently need. By investing in social housing, we can create beautiful, permanently affordable homes where no one spends more than a quarter of their income on rent. New York has a long history of delivering high-quality social housing—we’ve done it before, and we can do it again, both in our state and across the nation.”
Housing Justice for All Coalition Director Cea Weaver said: “Private developers and landlords are too focused on lining their pockets to provide the housing we need. New York has a long history of providing permanently affordable social housing, built for the public good instead of real estate industry profits. AOC is the most popular Democrat in the state – it’s time for state leaders to follow her lead and revive New York’s social housing model for a new generation.”
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Housing Justice for All is a statewide coalition of more than 80 organizations representing tenants and homeless New Yorkers, united in our fight for housing as a human right.