Rental Housing Investment Act

The Rental Housing Investment Act aims to address the national shortage of rental housing by modernizing how developers recover construction costs under the tax code. Currently, builders must spread out their tax deductions for construction expenses over 27.5 years. This bill proposes to allow builders to immediately deduct up to $150,000 per unit for newly constructed multifamily rental housing, which is intended to improve cash flow and make more housing projects financially viable in a high-interest-rate environment.

Additionally, the legislation proposes an enhanced deduction of up to $250,000 per unit for projects that include income-restricted units reserved for working families. To ensure these benefits lead to long-term affordability, the bill would require projects receiving the higher deduction to maintain their affordability commitments for at least 15 years. By lowering the upfront financial barriers to construction, the bill aims to increase the overall supply of apartments and townhomes to help ease rising rent pressures for everyday citizens.