H.R. 9461

119 HR 9461 IH: Working Families Home Construction Act of 2026
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2026-06-25
 text/xml
 EN
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 I  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  H. R. 9461  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   June 25, 2026   Mr. Fitzgerald  introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on Financial Services    A BILL
To permit the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation and the Federal National Mortgage Association to purchase and securitize certain residential construction loans.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Working Families Home Construction Act of 2026  .
2.
Purchase of qualifying construction loans by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
(a)
In general
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (hereafter referred to as the  Director ) shall permit the enterprises to purchase and securitize qualifying construction loans, as described in this section.
(b)
Qualifying construction loan
A qualifying loan shall have each of the following characteristics:
(1)
The loan shall be made by a depository institution, a credit union, a State housing finance agency, or any other entity as determined by the Director.
(2)
The originating institution for the loan shall verify and document the financial viability, capacity to complete, and support from the local community as defined in subsection (d)(4), for the purpose of providing that information to an enterprise.
(3)
The loan shall have an interest rate established by the Director, which takes into account—
(A)
affordability for a family described in paragraph (9); and
(B)
safety and soundness with respect to the operating costs and expected losses related to purchasing qualifying construction loans.
(4)
The loan shall be made to a builder, homebuilder, or developer.
(5)
The loan shall be for a construction project that will result in the building of 1 or more owner-occupied dwelling units.
(6)
The recipient of the loan shall contribute not less than 10 percent of the capital required to complete the construction project (including the value of the land on which the project is located) to be undertaken by the recipient using such loan.
(7)
The loan shall be—
(A)
not more than $100,000 for each dwelling unit to be constructed as part of the construction project provided that the amounts described in this paragraph represent the maximum amount of supplemental or gap financing eligible for purchase and securitization by an enterprise under this Act and may be layered with other construction financing sources, including commercial construction loans, State or local financing, and developer equity contributions and shall not be construed to require that a qualifying construction loan serve as the sole or primary source of financing for any construction project; and
(B)
not more than $2,400,000 in total for any single construction project.
(8)
The loan may be used for—
(A)
acquiring land;
(B)
professional services, including engineering services, land use planning services, surveying, environmental due diligence;
(C)
developing infrastructure that will serve such eligible construction project, including roads, sewers, sidewalks, grading, water lines, stormwater management, lighting, and street landscaping and signage;
(D)
construction of dwelling units;
(E)
direct developer incentives; or
(F)
municipal fees and permits.
(9)
Each dwelling unit built as part of a construction project financed with a loan shall be sold to a family whose income is between 90 percent and 130 percent of the area median income in the area where the dwelling unit is located.
(10)
When a dwelling unit built as part of a construction project financed with a loan is sold, the terms of the sale shall require the purchaser to reside in the dwelling unit for not less than 1 year, and shall require developers to include a recorded, restrictive covenant to that effect.
(c)
Availability of amounts
(1)
Freddie Mac
Section 1337 of the  Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992  ( 12 U.S.C. 4567(a)(1)(B) ) is amended in subsection (a)(1)(B)—
(A)
in clause (i)—
(i)
by striking  65  and inserting  53 ; and
(ii)
by striking  and  at the end;
(B)
in clause (ii), by striking  35  and inserting  25 ; and
(C)
by adding at the end the following:
(iii)
22 percent of such amounts for the purpose of purchasing and securitizing qualifying construction loans under the Working Families Home Construction Act of 2026; and
 .
(2)
Fannie Mae
Section 1337 of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 ( 12 U.S.C. 4567(a)(2)(B) ) is amended in subsection (a)(2)(B)—
(A)
in clause (i)—
(i)
by striking  65  and inserting  53 ; and
(ii)
by striking  and  at the end;
(B)
in clause (ii)—
(i)
by striking  35  and inserting  25 ; and
(ii)
by striking the period at the end and inserting  ; and ; and
(C)
by adding at the end the following:
(iii)
22 percent of such amounts for the purpose of purchasing and securitizing qualifying construction loans under the Working Families Home Construction Act of 2026; and
 .
(d)
Definitions
In this section:
(1)
Credit union
The term  credit union  has the meaning given the term  insured credit union  in section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act ( 12 U.S.C. 1752 ).
(2)
Depository institution
The term  depository institution  has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act ( 12 U.S.C. 1813 ).
(3)
Enterprise
The term  enterprise  means—
(A)
the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation; or
(B)
the Federal National Mortgage Association.
(4)
Support from the local community
The term  support from the local community  means formal authorization or endorsement for the proposed construction project from the relevant local governmental authority, which shall be deemed satisfied by any one of the following:
(A)
a valid zoning approval issued by the relevant local government authority for the proposed construction project;
(B)
a building permit issued by the relevant local government authority for the proposed construction project;
(C)
a formal resolution or letter of support from a local elected official with jurisdiction over the area in which the project is located; or
(D)
such other documentation as the Director determines demonstrates formal local governmental authorization for the proposed construction project.