New homes with federal money must be wheelchair-accessible.
S. 5125 — Eleanor Smith Inclusive Home Design Act of 2026 · Filed by Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) · Introduced Jul 23, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
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What it does
The bill requires new single-family homes and townhouses that get federal money to be accessible. They must have at least one accessible floor. Builders must show plans to local officials for approval. If a home does not meet the rules, people can sue. They can get a court order to fix it or get money for damages. The rule starts one year after the law passes.
Who it affects
People with disabilities and their families get homes they can use. Builders and developers must follow the new rule. Local building officials must check plans.
One thing to notice
Homes built with any federal help may have to follow the rule. This includes homes built before the law passed.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
- Jul 23, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Jul 23, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- accessible — Designed so people in wheelchairs can enter and move around.
- federal money — Money the government gives or lends to help build homes.
- court order — A judge's command to do or stop doing something.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (9,273 characters) on Aug 12, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,707 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-23.
“New homes with federal money must be wheelchair-accessible.” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s5125/simple Report an error