Housing Is a Human Right Act of 2025

Housing Is a Human Right Act of 2025 is a comprehensive federal bill that reframes homelessness as a human-rights issue and seeks to reduce and end homelessness through a mix of blocked-penalization policies, housing-first placement, and expanded federal funding for housing, services, and inclusion. It creates new grant programs to divert people away from criminalization, invests in infrastructure and public resources (including repurposing unused public buildings and library programs), strengthens federal coordination (including reauthorizing the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness), and channels federal revenue toward homelessness-focused programs. It also expands voting access efforts for people who are homeless or housing-unstable and moves toward a broader, longer-term approach to housing affordability and stability. Key funding and program shifts include: (1) new grants to create or expand alternatives to penalizing homelessness; (2) a new CDBG Plus program to fund housing and services with a strong Housing First emphasis and explicit protections against displacement; (3) funding streams for emergency shelters, permanent supportive housing, and related infrastructure; (4) a requirement that programs engage homeless and housing-unstable populations in decision-making; (5) mandates for faster conveyance of federal or public properties to homelessness-related projects; (6) a permanent USICH structure with an advisory board and director; and (7) revenue provisions that direct funds from a future Title VI (housing-related revenue) into ESG, Continuum of Care, and CDBG Plus programs.