The Washington Report

On February 4, 2026, NAR submitted a letter to Congress supporting H.R. 4669—the Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act—bipartisan legislation to modernize federal disaster assistance and strengthen housing recovery following natural disasters.

The FEMA Act promotes faster, more resilient and cost‑effective recovery by allowing disaster aid to be used for permanent, owner‑occupied home repairs rather than prolonged reliance on temporary housing solutions such as FEMA trailers. It also permits cost‑effective home‑hardening and mitigation upgrades to be incorporated up front during repairs, helping reduce future damage and recovery costs.

The bill would also create a unified, web‑based disaster assistance application across federal agencies, streamlining access for survivors while improving transparency, access to resources, and reducing administrative complexity.

The legislation enjoys strong bipartisan support and was approved 57–3 by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee last fall. It now awaits consideration by the House Homeland Security Committee before advancing to the full House. A Senate companion bill has not yet been introduced.

NAR supports reforming, rather than downsizing, federal disaster aid programs and will continue to work with Congress to prioritize permanent repairs, resilience, and a simpler, more transparent disaster aid process.

Read NAR's letter

HUD recently announced that Public Housing Authorities and owners of HUD-assisted housing must verify the citizenship and immigration status of assisted households within 30 days. This announcement has raised questions about the responsibilities of private housing providers who accept Housing Choice Vouchers. Here's what you need to know.

Key Points:

• Who is responsible for verifying immigration status of HCV households? Public housing agencies (PHAs) administering the voucher program are solely responsible for verifying the citizenship and immigration status of voucher holders. This has always been a PHA responsibility and remains so.
• What about "owners" mentioned in HUD's announcement? When HUD refers to "owners," the agency is referring to owners of multifamily rental properties who contract directly with HUD to provide assisted housing, such as Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance properties and Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly. This does not include private housing providers who accept HCVs.
• What are your responsibilities as a housing provider participating in the HCV program? Your responsibilities remain unchanged. You continue to work with the PHA that administers vouchers in your area, and the PHA remains responsible for determining tenant eligibility, including citizenship and immigration status verification.

If you have specific questions about your participation in the HCV program, contact your local PHA. For general questions about HUD programs, NAR's policy team is available to assist.

NAR submitted comments to The Appraisal Foundation's Appraisal Standards Board (ASB) in response to its Exposure Draft: Proposed New Advisory Opinion (AO) 41, Use of Technology in an Appraisal or Appraisal Review Assignment.

In the letter, NAR reiterated its support for credible, independent valuations of real property, and emphasized that appraiser competency—as defined by the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP)—is key for credible appraisal results. The ASB's proposed AO addresses these issues, and the essence and guidance in general appears to be helpful in interpreting USPAP while using advanced technological tools.

However, NAR points out that some language in the AO may cause unnecessary confusion and asks for clarity to ensure that appraiser responsibilities are understood. Appraisers cannot realistically be expected to audit AI model architecture or inspect training datasets, as the current language suggests. Therefore, the appraiser's responsibility is to be competent to recognize when the tool produces an output that is unreliable—not the design, training, or underlying technology that produces this output.

Read NAR's Comment Letter