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Guide · Local Gov

Cities, Counties & Regional Planners

A public-land database by October 1, CDBG tied to housing growth, and grants that reward reform.

19 relevant sections 11 action items 15 tracked deadlines

The one thing to know

CDBG grantees owe a searchable database of undeveloped public land by October 1, 2026, and entitlement cities and counties should have HUD’s Build Now growth-rate letter around September 9, 2026 — the rest is opportunity, not mandate.

The National League of Cities summed it up: the Act imposes no zoning preemption and no unfunded mandates, but it does reshape CDBG. Section 104 requires every CDBG grantee to certify it maintains a public, searchable database of all undeveloped land it owns (effective October 1, 2026; the cost is CDBG-eligible). Section 213 (Build Now) will, from the third full fiscal year after enactment through FY2043, cut allocations 10% for entitlement grantees below the median housing-growth improvement rate and redistribute the money as bonuses to those at or above it, with exemptions for low-cost, high-vacancy, recently disaster-declared, and no-zoning-authority jurisdictions. Section 204 lets you spend up to 20% of CDBG on new construction of affordable housing.

The opportunity side is a set of competitive programs HUD must establish by July 11, 2027: the Innovation Fund (Section 208, $200 million a year authorized FY2027–2031, for localities and tribes that can show supply growth), planning and implementation grants (Section 207, including regional planning agencies), pattern-book design grants (Section 209), and RESIDE conversion grants (Section 210, for HOME PJs). Sections 205–206 and 501 make environmental review faster for small and infill projects, Section 102 will bring single-stair model code guidance by January 2028, and Section 107 will publish voluntary state and local zoning frameworks by July 2029.

What changes for you

All sections tagged for you

The sections below are the ones this guide leans on, in the order they matter most. Each links to the full plain-English breakdown and the enrolled text.

Source: Enrolled bill text, H.R. 6644 (govinfo) (opens in a new tab) · Section numbers as enacted · reviewed Aug 29, 2026

Your action checklist

Grouped by when we'd start on each item. Tick things off as you go — progress is saved in your browser.

0 of 11 done

Ticks are saved in this browser only (nothing is sent to us). Suggested horizons are ours, not the statute's.

Now

Already law — no guidance needed to start.
  • Why: Section 104 adds the database to the CDBG grantee certifications effective October 1, 2026; the statute does not define "undeveloped" and no HUD guidance had been located as of August 29, 2026.

    Sec. 104

  • Why: Section 213 reallocates CDBG among entitlements through FY2043 based on Census address-count data; the adjustment is binary around the median.

    Sec. 213

  • Why: Section 504 codifies CDBG-DR with a new formula program, a 70% low- and moderate-income benefit floor, and a three-year sunset (July 11, 2029).

    Sec. 504

Rest of 2026

Deadlines and data calls landing before year-end.
  • Why: Section 503 lets HUD grant the waiver within 60 days but requires denial for recipients that relocate people without offering shelter or housing options.

    Sec. 503

2027

Decisions that wait on agency notices or appropriations.
  • Why: Section 208 grants of $250,000 to $10 million go to localities and tribes with "objective improvement in housing supply growth"; the program must exist by July 11, 2027 and sunsets in 2033.

    Sec. 208

  • Why: HUD must establish the program within a year of enactment; it sunsets July 11, 2031 and has no dollar authorization.

    Sec. 207

  • Why: Section 204 makes new construction an eligible activity that counts toward low- and moderate-income benefit.

    Sec. 204

  • Why: Section 210 gives priority to distressed areas, Opportunity Zones, and jurisdictions that enacted conversion-barrier reductions.

    Sec. 210

Watch

Nothing to do yet — keep an eye on rulemaking and NOFOs.
  • Why: Section 209 is authorized but subject to appropriations; South Bend-style pattern books have documented per-project savings.

    Sec. 209

  • Why: Sections 205–206 apply only to funds appropriated after enactment or after the rule’s effective date, and not to blended projects.

    Sec. 205Sec. 206Sec. 501

  • Why: Both are voluntary, but the protections differ. Only Section 107(e) promises that HUD will not take adverse action against, or withhold otherwise-offered services from, a jurisdiction that declines to adopt a guideline. Section 102’s rule of construction is a different kind of assurance — nothing in it preempts a state or local building code. Either way, both products will shape grant competitiveness.

    Sec. 107Sec. 102

Deadlines that matter to you

Statutory deadlines and agency actions relevant to Cities, Counties & Regional Planners, sorted by date
DeadlineSectionAgencyActionStatus
Aug 10, 202625 days agoSec. 504HUDPublish a Federal Register notice with the latest CDBG-DR unmet-need formula allocation methodologies and solicit public comment on them (new HCDA §124(a)(4)).Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this sectionIssued three days late: HUD published the notice at 91 FR 52314 on Aug 13, 2026 (Docket FR-6337-N-02). It keeps the January 2025 formula in place for now and asks nine questions; comments are due Sep 14, 2026 (regulations.gov docket HUD-2022-0084). This is the only Federal Register document so far that formally implements a provision of the Act — though not for long: the FDIC Board approved an interim final rule implementing §902 on August 27, 2026, which awaits Federal Register publication.Issued
Sep 9, 2026in 5 daysSec. 213HUDNotify every eligible CDBG recipient of its "housing growth improvement rate" and whether it is above, at, or below the median, and share best-practice guidance on reducing regulatory barriers (Build Now Act).Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this ActNo public HUD announcement or CPD notice yet. Notifications may go directly to grantees, so absence from the public record does not prove they have not been sent. The allocation adjustments themselves take effect "beginning with the third full fiscal year after the date of enactment" (§213(e)(2)) — on a plain count from a July 11, 2026 enactment that is FY2029, which begins October 1, 2028. Some summaries read it as FY2030; the open-questions list tracks the disagreement.Unknown
Oct 1, 2026in 27 daysSec. 104HUDNew CDBG certification takes effect: each grantee must maintain a publicly accessible, searchable database of all undeveloped land it owns. HUD (CPD) will need to fold the requirement into grantee certifications and monitoring.The amendment made by this subsection shall take effect on October 1, 2026No CPD guidance on the database requirement has been published as of late August 2026.Not started
Jan 7, 2027in 125 daysSec. 501HUDComplete a review of how Build America, Buy America (BABA) applies to HOME-assisted activities; issue updated guidance within 90 days after the review; report to Congress by the 270-day mark (§501(m)).Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this ActNo CPD announcement. Follow-on: updated guidance 90 days after the review; report due Apr 7, 2027.Not started
Jan 11, 2027in 129 daysSec. 504HUDAfter consulting FEMA, SBA, and other agencies, publish proposed rules to carry out the new HCDA §124 CDBG-DR authorization (a 3-year program that sunsets July 11, 2029) with a 90-day public comment period; final rules follow at the one-year mark.Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this ActThe Aug 13, 2026 formula notice says HUD will keep using the January 2025 formula until it publishes an updated notice or completes rulemaking. No NPRM yet.Not started
Jul 11, 2027in 310 daysSec. 207HUDEstablish a competitive grant program for planning and implementation activities associated with affordable housing (not construction). The program sunsets five years after enactment.Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this ActNot established; no appropriation identified. Watch FY2027 THUD.Not started
Jul 11, 2027in 310 daysSec. 208HUDEstablish the Innovation Fund: competitive grants to eligible entities that have increased local housing supply, with a public list of eligible entities. The program sunsets seven years after enactment; $200 million per year is authorized for FY2027-FY2031.Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this ActNot established. Whether Congress appropriates the authorized amount for FY2027 is unknown as of late August 2026.Not started
Jul 11, 2027in 310 daysSec. 301HUDStates submit an initial certification that their laws treat manufactured homes without a permanent chassis in parity with chassis-built homes (financing, title, insurance, manufacture, sale, taxes, transportation, installation); HUD publishes and maintains a Federal Register and website list of states that are current. States with biennial legislatures get two years.Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing ActThis is the date that carries a real consequence: under new NMHCSSA §604(i)(5)(B), a State that fails to certify must itself prohibit the manufacture, installation, or sale of covered chassis-less manufactured homes within the State. No HUD certification form or guidance to states yet, and HUD has not said how it will reconcile its June 12, 2026 proposed rule (which lifted the chassis requirement only for upper floors) with §301.Not started
Jul 11, 2027in 310 daysSec. 501HUDIssue two HOME rules: one carrying out the new infrastructure eligibility (§501(e)) and one on environmental review coordination and recognition of prior reviews for infill projects (§501(l)).Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this ActNo ROAD-specific rulemaking has been announced. A vehicle already exists, though: HUD has an open HOME rulemaking — Docket FR-6144 / RIN 2506-AC50, most recently a proposed rule at 91 FR 23194 (Apr. 30, 2026), carried in the 2026 Unified Agenda at final-rule stage — which is the obvious place to carry the §501(e) and §501(l) rules. Because it is at final-rule stage its comment window has closed, so if HUD uses it the public may not get another opportunity to comment. Whether HUD intends to is unknown.Not started
Jul 11, 2027in 310 daysSec. 504HUDIssue final regulations for the 3-year CDBG-DR program (HCDA §124). The §124 program itself sunsets three years after enactment (July 11, 2029) unless Congress acts.Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this ActDepends on the Jan 11, 2027 NPRM and its 90-day comment period.Not started
Jan 11, 2028in 494 daysSec. 102HUDIssue guidelines with model code language, best practices, and technical guidance to help states, territories, Tribes, and localities permit point-access block (single-stair) residential buildings.Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this sectionNothing announced. The related grant program in §102 sunsets seven years after enactment.Not started
Jul 11, 2028in 676 daysSec. 206HUDBegin five years of annual reports to Congress on reductions in environmental review times and administrative costs from the streamlining actions in §206, with recommendations on categorical exclusions. The reclassification actions themselves require notice-and-comment rulemaking (24 CFR Parts 50/58) with no fixed statutory date.An annual report during the 5-year period beginning on the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of this ActNo Part 58 NPRM published as of late August 2026.Not started
Jul 11, 2028in 676 daysSec. 107HUDDuring the two years after enactment, the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research must (A) publish draft zoning-framework guidelines and best practices in the Federal Register for public comment and (B) establish a task force — urban planners, architects, affordable, market-rate, manufactured and cooperative housing developers, public housing agencies, transit authorities, State officials, academics, home builders, and community-engagement experts.During the 2-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this ActThe clock is running now, and this is the public’s comment opportunity on the zoning guidelines — the draft must go in the Federal Register before the final guidelines are due in July 2029. No task-force announcement or draft notice as of late August 2026.Not started
Oct 1, 2028in 758 daysSec. 213HUDBuild Now Act CDBG allocation adjustments (bonuses and reductions tied to housing growth improvement rates) begin with the third full fiscal year after enactment (FY2029) and run through FY2043; they do not apply to funds appropriated before enactment.Shall take effect beginning with the third full fiscal year after the date of enactment of this Act and remain in effect through fiscal year 2043The statute says the adjustments "shall take effect beginning with the third full fiscal year after the date of enactment" (§213(e)(2)). Enactment falls in FY2026, so FY2027 is the first full fiscal year after it, FY2028 the second and FY2029 the third — the date shown is the start of FY2029. Some summaries read it as FY2030; the open-questions list tracks the disagreement, and no HUD document takes a position.Not started
Jul 11, 2029in 1041 daysSec. 107HUDThe Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research publishes guidelines and best practices for state and local zoning frameworks; a report to Congress on adoption follows five years after the final guidelines.Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this ActThe final guidelines are the end of a process whose first stage is already running — see the two-year draft-guidelines and task-force obligations under §107(b)(2).Not started

Source: Enrolled bill text, H.R. 6644 (govinfo) (opens in a new tab) · Status as of Aug 29, 2026; day counts relative to Sep 4, 2026 (Eastern)

Full implementation tracker

Watch-outs

  • Funding is the catch: the House FY2027 THUD bill kept CDBG flat at $3.3 billion, cut HOME to $500 million, and had no line for the Innovation Fund, planning grants, pattern books, RESIDE, or single-stair pilots; the Senate bill had not been released as of late August 2026.

  • Build Now start year: §213(e)(2) says the adjustments "shall take effect beginning with the third full fiscal year after the date of enactment." Counting from a July 11, 2026 enactment (FY2026), that is FY2029, which begins October 1, 2028 — the reading this hub uses. Some summaries say FY2030, and no HUD document has taken a position, so treat the year as unsettled until HUD publishes its reading.

  • The House-passed requirement to report on 22 categories of land-use policy was dropped; the only land-use mandate left is the public-land database.

  • Build Now applies to entitlement grantees only — states and non-entitlement communities are not covered — and NACo estimates most entitlement counties would likely be exempt.

  • HUD staffing: Urban Institute counts at least 35 new HUD duties with no added money for staffing after a 24% FY2026 cut, so expect slow NOFOs and rules.

Resources for you

Full library

4 more tagged for cities, counties & regional planners in the full library.

Where this guide comes from

  • Appropriations Watch

    Whether the programs in this guide have FY2027 money — the House bill, the Senate bill that does not exist, and the two pending continuing resolutions.

    Check the money
  • Comment & Engage

    Federal comment periods open now, how to write one an agency has to reckon with, and the dockets the Act guarantees are still coming.

    Open the comment guide
AI Housers

Disclaimer: This hub is an independent, plain-language explainer built by a housing professional — it is not legal, compliance, or financial advice and is not affiliated with HUD, USDA, Congress, or any agency. Every fact links to a primary or authoritative source; when something could not be verified we say so. Always confirm against the enacted text and official agency guidance before acting.

What changed on this hub · last updated August 29, 2026

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