Obama-era housing rule blamed for driving up costs slashed by Trump admin

Key Points:

• The Trump administration has rescinded an Obama-era HUD policy that allowed indefinite accessibility-related complaints against property owners for original building design flaws, which was blamed for driving up housing costs and limiting affordable housing supply.
• The previous rule forced property owners to spend over $112 million on accessibility retrofits in the past five years to qualify for FHA refinancing, causing financing difficulties and discouraging borrowers, with an estimated $1 billion in lost HUD-insured loan volume.
• Under the new enforcement framework, complaints must be filed within one year of a building receiving its certificate of occupancy, or within two years for private lawsuits, protecting current owners from retroactive liability for original construction flaws.
• HUD Secretary Scott Turner stated the rollback corrects an overreach by the prior policy that exceeded statutory authority and imposed undue burdens, aligning enforcement with congressional mandates and federal court rulings.
• The change maintains tenant rights to request reasonable modifications under the Fair Housing Act while aiming to reduce unnecessary costs and legal uncertainties that have hindered affordable housing development.