NMHC’s Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, Cindy Chetti, and Vice President of Construction, Development and Land Use Policy, Paula Cino, joined by Kimberly Grimm, Executive Vice President of Development & Chief Talent Officer of Continental Properties, were glad to take part in a meeting with HUD leadership to explore affordability solutions through eliminating construction barriers. This meeting is part of the Administration’s larger housing affordability efforts born out of President Trump’s Executive Order to establish a White House Council on Eliminating Barriers to Affordable Housing Development.
Opening comments by Secretary Carson highlighted NMHC and NAHB research on the high costs of regulations in housing construction and underscored NMHC concerns about the barriers to apartment development imposed by state and local jurisdictions. The discussion then focused on a number of apartment industry priorities including Davis Bacon challenges, Fair Housing Act accessibility requirements and the need for cost-beneficial building codes and standards. Specifically, Grimm highlighted the complex and sometimes conflicting nature of guidance, building codes and statutory language that has led to added project costs, “Of the 11 projects Continental is working on this year, at least five of those projects have been significantly impacted by [the FHA accessibility requirements], causing anywhere from $200,000 to $700,000 in additional costs in our projects.”
Prior to the meeting at HUD, NMHC participated in a roundtable meeting at the White House, which brought together housing leaders from public and private sectors for a solutions-focused discussion. Additionally, NMHC was represented at the signing of the aforementioned Executive Order.
Our nation is facing a real and growing housing affordability crisis – and NMHC is pleased to be a part of the Administration’s efforts to find solutions to lessen the crisis. To that end, NMHC has developed a number of resources to educate stakeholders on the issue of housing affordability. To learn more about these resources, please visit our housing affordability advocacy page.
