When the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act was signed into law in July, it marked the most significant federal investment in affordable housing in more than a decade. For families across Michigan who have been priced out, locked out, or left behind by a housing market that simply doesn’t have enough homes, this legislation matters.
Habitat for Humanity of Michigan was part of making it happen. In March, our team traveled to Washington, D.C., alongside Habitat affiliates from across the country to meet with legislators and make the case for policies that would open up homeownership to more families. The final bill reflects a lot of what we asked for.
But a law is only as good as what it does on the ground. So here is a plain-language look at what the ROAD to Housing Act actually does and what it could mean for Michigan.
Turning Vacant Buildings into Homes
Michigan has no shortage of vacant and abandoned commercial properties, particularly in cities like Detroit, Flint, Saginaw, and Benton Harbor. The new law creates a five-year pilot program to help communities convert those buildings into affordable housing. Funds can cover acquisition, clean-up, and full redevelopment, with priority going to communities that have historically been most burdened by disinvestment. This provision has real potential to turn long-standing community challenges into housing opportunity.
Keeping Starter Homes Available to Real Buyers
In recent years, large institutional investors have been purchasing single-family homes at a scale that squeezes individual buyers out of the market. The ROAD to Housing Act prohibits those investors from buying certain starter homes and directs any penalties right back into homeownership programs, including down payment assistance. That creates a self-reinforcing cycle: fewer homes taken off the market by investors, and more resources to help first-time buyers get in the door.
More Flexibility for Habitat Affiliates and Local Partners
Community Development Block Grant funds are a critical resource for Habitat affiliates in Michigan. Previously, those dollars couldn’t be used for new home construction. That changes under the new law. Affiliates can now use CDBG funding to build, not just repair, affordable homes. The HOME Investment Partnerships Program is also updated, raising income eligibility for homeownership assistance from 80% to 100% of area median income. More Michigan families will qualify.
Help for Homeowners Whose Homes Need Work
A lot of Michigan’s housing stock is old, and for low-income homeowners, keeping up with repairs can be financially impossible. The Whole-Home Repairs Act, included in the larger legislation, creates a five-year pilot program offering grants and forgivable loans for health and safety repairs, accessibility improvements, and critical maintenance. In a state where so many families own their homes but struggle to keep them safe, this provision is timely.
Better Conditions for Rural Michigan
Housing challenges in Michigan’s rural communities, including the Upper Peninsula, often go unnoticed in national policy conversations. The new law reforms USDA Rural Housing Service programs in ways that directly benefit rural Michigan: expanded loan flexibility, higher repair loan limits, faster processing times, and reduced regulatory burden on rural infill construction. Rural families deserve the same pathways to stable homeownership as anyone else.
Addressing the Small-Dollar Mortgage Problem
Here’s a frustrating reality in many Michigan communities: homes are affordable, but buyers can’t find mortgage financing for them. Small-dollar loans, often under $100,000, are unprofitable for lenders, so they don’t offer them. The ROAD to Housing Act directs the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to study and identify ways to remove these barriers. It’s a first step, but an important one, toward ensuring that financing is available in the places where homes are already within reach of working families.
Faster Pathways to Building
Multiple provisions in the law streamline environmental review processes for HUD- and USDA-funded housing projects. For Habitat affiliates working to build homes efficiently, fewer delays in the regulatory process mean more homes completed faster.
Incentivizing Local Zoning Reform
A new $1 billion Innovation Fund will offer competitive grants to communities that have taken steps to increase their housing supply. Michigan cities and townships now have a concrete financial incentive to modernize zoning codes that have historically made it harder to build more homes.
The Work Isn’t Done
Passing legislation is a real achievement. It deserves to be recognized. But authorizing programs and funding them are two different things. The appropriations process, the annual budget decisions that determine whether these programs actually receive money, is the critical next step. A law that creates a promising program but gets no funding doesn’t build homes.
Habitat for Humanity of Michigan will remain at the table for that conversation. And that’s exactly why August matters so much: Michigan’s legislators are home in their districts right now, and this is the moment to remind them that the families who need these programs are their constituents.
