Affordability and Fairness for Mountain Communities Act of 2025
The Affordability and Fairness for Mountain Communities Act of 2025 would create a new Area Median Income Localization Waiver program within HUD (and related USDA programs) to let local county governments adjust how area median income (AMI) is calculated for certain federally funded housing programs. Specifically, counties could choose to compute AMI using a ZIP Code area, a group of bordering counties, or the traditional method already in law. The goal is to better reflect local housing costs in mountain, rural areas where standard AMI figures may not capture true affordability challenges for low-income and seasonal workers. The act also requires a study to explore alternative AMI methods and whether including roommates for seasonal workers would change housing assistance outcomes, with a public, two-year reporting deadline. In addition to establishing the waiver program, the bill defines the covered programs (a broad list of HUD and rural/NAHASDA programs) and sets out the process for application and selection. It ends with a formal review of AMI usage and housing affordability in mountain communities, including potential reform or elimination of AMI-based affordability calculations and recommendations for using existing HUD authorities to improve outcomes for low-income and seasonal workers.
Key Points
- 1Establishes the Area Median Income Localization Waiver program, to be created within 90 days of enactment, to localize AMI calculations for certain housing programs.
- 2Allows county governments to use either ZIP Code-based AMI, a group of bordering counties AMI, or the original statutory method for the covered programs.
- 3Covers a broad set of programs administered by HUD and the Department of Agriculture (including public housing, Section 8, HOME, McKinney-Vento programs, Housing Trust Fund, elderly and disabled housing, AIDS housing, Native American housing, Native Hawaiians housing, and rural rental housing).
- 4Requires the Secretary to accept applications and grant waivers to participating counties; waivers can be used for the covered programs as described.
- 5Requires a federal study on alternative AMI methods and other metrics to improve affordability in mountain communities, including how roommates for seasonal workers would affect housing assistance; results due within two years, with a comprehensive public report.
- 6Provides definitions for AMI, high housing cost adjustments, the Secretary, and “mountain communities” (rural areas in the Mountain Division of the Western Region).