Regulation

It has been reported that out of the total costs of housing, over 25% of these costs stem from regulatory matters. Furthermore, high housing costs are a significant contributor to the extensive homeless populations found across the country, particularly in urban areas.

In response to this housing dilemma, President Trump signed the Executive Order on Establishing a White House Council on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing.

This order establishes a council led by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson. The council’s mission is to analyze and reform the federal regulations increasing the costs of housing development. Additionally, the council will determine which programs under numerous agencies can be reformed in order to encourage both state and local deregulation.

After the announcement was made, the meeting was opened up to questions from the public. The concern was addressed of how the council would go about engaging with both state and local levels in order to acquire this research and make informed decisions. In reply, Carson stated that the council would work with communities where this had been done before such as Minneapolis, Miami and Charleston- where they have seen significant results and improved housing performance in the past.

The council will be in search of not only the best practices in their research, but also the worst so that they can learn from past mistakes and know how to address each situation moving forward.

To read more from HUD on the Executive Order click here.

To view the Executive Order click here.

To read the remarks by President Trump at the signing of the Executive Order click here.