Dive Brief:
- The Senate advanced a major permitting bill on Monday that could speed up apartment construction. Although the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 is focused on energy and infrastructure, several measures would “streamline permitting processes and development programs to deliver critically needed housing supply,” per National Apartment Association Assistant Vice President of Federal Legislative Affairs Owen Caine.
- Industry groups, including the National Association of Home Builders and YIMBY Action, released a letter of support for BAAJA’s housing measures on Monday, saying the bill’s “impact on housing development has received little attention even though it could be transformative for building more housing.”
- The Bipartisan Policy Center characterized BAAJA as the most comprehensive permitting bill to date. Monday’s 73-25 affirmative procedural vote sets the legislation up for further debate in the Senate.
Dive Insight:
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee introduced BAAJA on Sept. 30. It was attached to a popular but unrelated bill that had already passed the House in an effort to bypass a potential filibuster that new Senate bills can face.
On Saturday, several senators released a substitute amendment to BAAJA with clarifying and technical edits to reflect feedback they received since it was introduced, bringing the sprawling bill to nearly 500 pages. The tweaks were largely sector-specific exclusions to the National Environmental Policy Act, according to Bipartisan Policy Center analysis.
Under the updated BAAJA, many HUD- and Department of Agriculture-supported housing projects would no longer trigger federal historic preservation reviews and would likely only mandate streamlined federal environmental reviews, according to the housing group letter.
These changes “would alleviate significant, major burdens in HUD programs,” including the Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnerships Programs, public housing assistance, Economic Development Initiatives and other loan programs, per the groups. They estimate it would impact about $10 billion worth of federal housing programs annually.
BAAJA would also streamline Clean Water Act reviews — which apply regardless of federal funding status — and could reduce related costs by up to around $425,000 per project. “In total, these reforms will bring greater predictability to the federal permitting process for home builders and help lower the cost of housing,” according to the housing group letter.
“These provisions could especially make a measurable impact when coupled with the actions taken in the landmark 21st Century ROAD to Housing Law,” Caine said in emailed comments.
Click here to sign up to receive multifamily and apartment news like this article in your inbox every weekday.
