FY26 Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing)
HUD grants to state and local governments, MPOs, and multijurisdictional entities to remove regulatory barriers and expand affordable housing production and preservation, especially homeownership in Opportunity Zones and rural communities.
RESTRICTED TO: STATE LOCAL GOV
⚑ Direct applicants are limited to state and local governments, MPOs, and multijurisdictional entities; public universities are not eligible as direct applicants. · Individuals, foreign entities, and sole proprietorships are ineligible. · Applicants with overlapping geographies are encouraged to submit one partnered application rather than competing separately. · CDBG framework; priority to low- and moderate-income households and communities.
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| IPPRA | 15 none | university cannot apply directly (ineligible) |
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 15 none | university cannot apply directly (ineligible) |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 5 none | no commercialization signal |
Description
As President Trump said in his Executive Order on Removing Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Home Construction (March 13, 2026), The American dream of homeownership depends on a dynamic housing market in which a varied inventory of new homes is built and renovated each year. Layers of unnecessary regulatory barriers, slow permitting processes, and onerous mandates at all levels of government have delayed construction, restricted development, and driven up the costs of new housing. These constraints have made housing less affordable for many Americans.It is the policy of my Administration to reduce regulatory barriers to building homes and to steward taxpayer dollars in a manner that promotes housing affordability.HUD's PRO Housing program rewards communities that have taken steps to remove regulatory barriers to building and preserving homes by providing funding to further expand affordable housing, particularly homeownership opportunities and housing located in Opportunity Zones and rural communities.HUD is issuing this Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) PRO Housing NOFO under the authority of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, which provided $50 million for competitive grant funding for state and local governments, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), and multijurisdictional entities. The Appropriations Act requires HUD to award grants using the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) framework. As with all CDBG assistance, the priority is to serve low- and moderate-income people and households. HUD shall select applicants that demonstrate: (1) progress and a commitment to eliminating local barriers to facilitate the increase in affordable housing production and preservation, through enactment or implementation of less restrictive zoning, land use, or permitting laws and regulations; (2) an acute need for housing affordable to households with incomes below 100 percent of the area median income; and (3) a commitment to create new homeownership units before the expiration of the funding performance period.Applicants and grantees are reminded of the President's Executive Orders on Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (January 221, 2025) and Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferences (January 20, 2025) and their applicability to PRO Housing funding. PRO Housing funding may not be used to fund "illegal and immoral discrimination programs, going by the name 'diversity, equity, and inclusion.'"In addition to thoroughly reviewing this NOFO, applicants are strongly encouraged to monitor HUD's PRO Housing website for information about general updates, Frequently Asked Questions, and PRO Housing webinars.HUD has four goals for this competition:Decrease the cost and increase the supply of affordable housing, especially in Opportunity Zones and rural communities.Remove barriers to affordable housing, removal of which will lead to constructing or rehabilitating more units, reducing time to produce units, and unlocking land that can be used for affordable housing units.Reward jurisdictions that have enacted laws and regulations that will lead to more affordable housing production and preservation.Increase opportunities for affordable homeownership by reducing administrative and structural barriers.
Eligibility
Other eligible applicants include Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and Multijurisdictional Entities. Refer to the Program Definitions in Appendix I of the NOFO to review how these terms are defined in the PRO Housing program.Prospective eligible applicants with overlapping geographies (e.g., a county government and a city government located within that county) are encouraged to partner on a single application, rather than submitting two competing applications. Individuals, foreign entities, and sole proprietorship organizations are not eligible to compete for, or receive, awards made under this announcement.
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: Department of Housing and Urban Development <CDBG-PROHousing@hud.gov>
Proposal brief SEE AN EXAMPLE →
A one-page internal memo: fit assessment, submission requirements, document scaffold, and next steps dated back from the deadline — tailored to your project idea if you add one.
Proposal shell · Federal (generic) conventions SEE A FEDERAL EXAMPLE →
Funder-faithful document skeletons — Federal (generic)'s document set with section headings, page limits, reviewer guidance, and writing prompts; add a project idea to get [DRAFT] starter bullets. Download as .md for Word or Overleaf.