The National Housing Emergency Act of 2026 directs the President to declare a national housing emergency and use the Defense Production Act to boost residential construction and rehabilitation. The bill addresses what Congress identifies as a critical shortage of roughly 4 million housing units that is driving up costs and pricing out most Americans from homeownership—a problem Congress projects will worsen to 10 million units by 2035. To tackle this emergency, the bill temporarily suspends certain federal housing regulations and environmental review requirements, sets a baseline building code standard (the 2009 International Residential Code), and requires states and local governments to show positive housing growth and remove zoning barriers to receive federal transportation and development funding. The emergency provisions remain in effect until either 4 million new housing units are built or rehabilitated, or October 1, 2031, whichever comes first—giving a five-year window to demonstrate measurable progress on construction.
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