The new housing law

NY Times -   The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, the first major housing package to become law in decades — and passed with impressive bipartisan support — has the potential to put a real dent in the nation’s affordable housing shortage.

The good news is that if carried out as intended, the law will break through a lot of the regulatory sludge holding back the construction industry. It will create a mix of financing and building incentives that will help the nation close the supply gap that has contributed to rising rents and put homeownership out of reach for many people.

The bad news is that President Trump let the act become law without his signature, calling it “a yawn” — not a great sign that his administration will dedicate the considerable resources needed to put it into effect.

Most of that work will fall to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which has to establish an array of pilot programs, reports and other acts of rule-making and industry guidance the law calls for. After last year’s purge of agency staff members, however, HUD is down about 30 percent of its work force in many of its key offices.