HUD targets deregulation to spur homebuilding

The Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner is pushing for a sweeping rollback of regulations, arguing that fewer rules and more construction are the keys to recovery.

Echoing a presidential memorandum published three months earlier, Turner said the key to solving the housing crisis is "[building] houses everywhere."

Turner highlighted "bringing down regulations on a federal level" but also "encouraging friends at state and local levels to take an assessment of the regulatory environment," when speaking Tuesday at the Mortgage Bankers Association's advocacy conference.

President Donald Trump in a January executive order claimed historically high prices, which prevented many from purchasing a home, were linked to regulatory requirements that "account for 25% of the cost of constructing a new home." 

The head of HUD noted the administration plans to terminate "20% to 25% of single family home- related regulations" calling it "bureaucratic red tape, which includes environmental regulations and land use restrictions." 

"We have to unleash the power of the sector and free market to build our way out of this affordability crisis," he said. 

Turner also expressed his willingness to work with and listen to feedback from mortgage industry stakeholders. "In order to tackle the housing affordability crisis…we must challenge one another, encourage one another and hold each other accountable in the months ahead," Turner said. "We value transparency. We depend on close relationships and partnerships with industry experts like yourselves."

In his address, Turner also touched on public housing, currently used by millions of residents, casting doubt on the future of the department's program. "Public housing is not permanent housing. It plays a role but it is not the solution permanently," he added. "HUD is being detailed and deliberate about every dollar, every taxpayer dollar." 

Since being placed at the helm of the department, Turner has vowed to reduce waste at the department via the launch of HUD's own Department of Government Efficiency Task Force. Since the launch of that task force, the department claims to have recovered $1.9 billion of funds "misplaced by the Biden administration." 

"DOGE and HUD worked together to de-obligate the funds and return them back to the U.S. Treasury," the department wrote in a press release distributed February 20.

Although not officially confirmed, an internal memo obtained by The Washington Post in February stated that there are plans to reduce HUD's workforce from 8,300 employees to just over 4,000.