What Might Federal Housing Policy Look Like in 2025?

In an interview with Curbed’s Kim Velsey, Matthew Murphy, executive director of New York University’s Furman Center, outlines how future federal policy could impact the housing crisis in New York City and around the country.

According to Murphy, “A lot of the housing policies we rely on today are either Republican-created or bipartisan. Housing vouchers are all about moving away from public housing and giving people choices.” Consequently, “The politics are actually in favor of not cutting Section 8.” However, Trump and Project 2025 authors have signaled the intent to tighten rules for federal housing programs to exclude households where non-citizens reside. The new administration could also cut funding to programs such as the Community Block Development Grant, which largely funds New York City’s code enforcement inspections.

For Murphy, the biggest potential impact will be changes to the tax code. “The last time they came up with opportunity zones that changed the way real estate could be invested in. There were also proposals to completely eliminate the low-income-housing-tax credit [which funds the construction and renovation of affordable rental housing].” Meanwhile, progress on fair housing could suffer if HUD stops making its resources available to enforce anti-discrimination laws.

And while a reduction in bureaucracy could be a good thing, Trump doesn’t appear poised to follow a small-government model. “It’s not like he’s embracing a libertarian vision of zoning, which is basically that we should abolish it and embrace market-based solutions,” Murphy says.