NAA & NMHC Response to President Trump's SOTU
Date postedFebruary 4, 2020
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Statement from the National Apartment Association (NAA) and National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) in response to President Trump’s State of the Union address:
NAA and NMHC are encouraged by President Trump’s remarks regarding economic growth, regulatory reform, opportunity zones and infrastructure during tonight’s State of the Union address. We applaud his ongoing efforts to support job growth and break down regulatory barriers that impede construction of needed apartment homes and exacerbate our nation’s housing affordability crisis.
A signature achievement of the President’s housing policy this year was the establishment of the White House Council on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing, an effort of which NAA and NMHC are a part. This Council, chaired by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson, has done important work highlighting how overly burdensome regulations drive up the costs of development and worsen housing affordability challenges.
A study by NMHC and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) found that regulations account for an average of 32.1 percent of multifamily development costs and that in a quarter of cases, that number can reach as high as 42.6 percent. Similarly, NAA’s Barriers to U.S. Apartment Construction Index found that complex approval systems are correlated to affordability issues – especially in complex urban markets.
Our nation needs to build 328,000 apartment homes each year just to keep up with demand. The apartment industry looks forward to continuing to work with the Trump administration and members of Congress to meet that demand and help address the housing affordability crisis.
A signature achievement of the President’s housing policy this year was the establishment of the White House Council on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing, an effort of which NAA and NMHC are a part. This Council, chaired by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson, has done important work highlighting how overly burdensome regulations drive up the costs of development and worsen housing affordability challenges.
A study by NMHC and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) found that regulations account for an average of 32.1 percent of multifamily development costs and that in a quarter of cases, that number can reach as high as 42.6 percent. Similarly, NAA’s Barriers to U.S. Apartment Construction Index found that complex approval systems are correlated to affordability issues – especially in complex urban markets.
Our nation needs to build 328,000 apartment homes each year just to keep up with demand. The apartment industry looks forward to continuing to work with the Trump administration and members of Congress to meet that demand and help address the housing affordability crisis.
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For more than 25 years, the National Apartment Association (NAA) and the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) have partnered on behalf of America's apartment industry. Drawing on the knowledge and policy expertise of staff in Washington, D.C., as well as the advocacy power of more than 150 NAA state and local affiliated associations, NAA and NMHC provide a single voice for developers, owners and operators of multifamily rental housing. One-third of all Americans rent their housing, and 40 million of them live in an apartment home.