On December 4, NLIHC joined a letter led by the National Apartment Association urging Members of the House of Representatives to pass the “Yes In My Backyard (YIMBY) Act” (H.R. 3507). Introduced in the House by Representatives Derek Kilmer (D-WA) and Mike Flood (R-NE), the “YIMBY Act” would help to eliminate discriminatory land use policies and remove barriers that can depress the production of housing. The bill also aims to increase transparency and encourage localities to build more affordable housing by requiring recipients of HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to report periodically on how they are removing discriminatory land use policies and promoting inclusive and affordable housing.
Signatories of the letter represent a coalition of national associations, including for-profit and nonprofit owners, operators, developers, lenders, property managers, housing agencies, housing cooperatives, and advocacy organizations.
A Senate version of the bill (S.1688) was introduced with bipartisan support by Senators Todd Young (R-IN) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) in May 2023, (see Memo, 05/30/23). The bill will need to be voted on in the Senate before the end of the 118th Congress and signed by the president in order to be enacted into law.
NLIHC supports the bill and urges Congress to enact it, which will help encourage communities to adopt needed reforms to increase the production of affordable housing. In addition, NLIHC will continue to push Congress to provide the long-term, large-scale investments required to end the nation’s housing crisis and ensure everyone has a safe, dignified, accessible, and affordable place to call home.