Congress expands affordable housing credits, protects domestic violence victims from eviction

What it does

This bill amends the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program under the Internal Revenue Code to expand affordable housing development and protect vulnerable tenants. It increases state allocations for housing credits, broadens eligibility for low-income housing projects (including rural and Native American areas), protects domestic violence victims from eviction, allows relocation costs as deductible expenses, creates a new 20% investment credit for converting commercial buildings to affordable housing, and modifies rules around tenant income, student occupancy, and property acquisition to make affordable housing projects more financially viable.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is expanding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program through higher allocations, new credits, and broadened eligibility, while simultaneously strengthening tenant protections (domestic violence, student exceptions, veteran benefits). It is a straightforward housing-policy bill with no hidden riders or self-dealing provisions.

What the text implies

• Removal of local approval requirements (§11306) may bypass community input on density, infrastructure, or neighborhood character—intended to accelerate development but may reduce local democratic control over land use.
• The new §48F conversion credit (20% of qualified expenditures) creates a new tax subsidy stream; combined with LIHTC, a single project may receive multiple federal incentives, concentrating benefits on larger/more complex deals.
• Expansion of 'difficult development areas' to include all rural areas and Indian areas (§11501–11402) may dilute the targeting of credits to truly high-cost regions, spreading limited federal resources thinner.
• Removal of the 'qualified contract' option (§11901) eliminates a mechanism that allowed nonprofits to purchase buildings at below-market rates after 15 years; this may reduce long-term community control and affordability preservation.
• The bill text is truncated at 50,000 characters; the full scope of provisions (particularly any appropriations, enforcement mechanisms, or phase-out rules) cannot be assessed.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Ordinary citizens gain expanded access to affordable housing through increased tax credits, broader geographic and population eligibility, stronger tenant protections (domestic violence safeguards, student exceptions with carve-outs for vulnerable populations), and removal of local approval barriers that can block projects. The bill prioritizes extremely low-income households (30% AMI) and vulnerable populations (formerly incarcerated, foster youth, kinship caregivers, domestic violence victims,

Who stands to gain

• affordable housing developers (for-profit and nonprofit)
• tax credit syndicators and investors
• construction and rehabilitation contractors
• property management companies
• community development financial institutions (CDFIs)
• state housing credit agencies

Named in the bill

Internal Revenue Code §42 (Low-Income Housing Tax Credit), Internal Revenue Code §48F (new Affordable Housing Conversion Credit), Internal Revenue Code §142(d) (exempt facility bonds for residential rental projects), Internal Revenue Code §146(i)(6) (refunding issues), Housing Credit Agency (state-level), Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996, Violence Against Women Act of 1994, McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, Social Security Act (foster youth provisions), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Where it stands

46 cosponsors: 46 Democrats.

• Dec 18, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Dec 18, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce and House Committee on Education and Workforce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Workforce…”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

3 lobbying clients named this bill on 4 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $7,093,295 in lobbying spend. A filing names 22 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 61% of bills with at least one filing.

Mike Thompson, the sponsor, reported $1,956,640 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• AARP — $5,300,000 on 1 filing
• National Multifamily Housing Council Inc — $1,560,000 on 1 filing
• National Council for Behavioral Health — $233,295 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 8, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.