21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Mandates Land Databases and Prioritizes Opportunity Zones for HUD Grants
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, enacted on July 11, 2026, introduces significant changes to federal housing policy, particularly impacting state and local governments. A key provision of this law requires all recipients of Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), a primary tool of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for expanding affordable housing, to maintain a searchable database identifying all undeveloped land parcels owned by the grantee. This mandate aims to provide governments with better data to address housing and economic development goals. Additionally, the act permanently renews the Opportunity Zones initiative, now termed 'Opportunity Zones 2.0,' which allows states to designate census tracts for federal tax incentives to attract private capital to distressed communities. The new legislation further stipulates that HUD will prioritize projects located within these Opportunity Zones when issuing competitive grants. The law also incorporates the Whole-Home Repairs... 
