United States HR 9932: Eleanor Smith Inclusive Home Design Act of 2026

Summary

This bill requires all newly constructed single-family homes and townhouses that receive federal funding or assistance to include at least one floor that meets accessibility standards for people with disabilities, known as "visitability" standards. The standards require features like no-step entries, accessible bathrooms and kitchens, and wider doorways to accommodate wheelchairs and mobility devices. Builders, developers, and other entities receiving federal housing assistance would be subject to enforcement actions, including plan review and withholding of construction approval, with penalties potentially including damages and court orders for retrofitting non-compliant homes.

Bill Text

I 
119THCONGRESS 
2
DSESSION 
H. R. 9932 
To  require  all  newly  constructed,  federally  assisted,  single-family  houses  and  
town  houses  to  meet  minimum  standards  of  visitability  for  persons  with  
disabilities. 
IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  
JULY23, 2026 
Ms.  S
CHAKOWSKY(for  herself,  Ms.  MCCOLLUM,  Mr.  DAVISof  Illinois,  Mr.  
K
HANNA,  Ms.  NORTON,  Ms.  TLAIB,  and  Mrs.  GRIJALVA)  introduced  the  
following  bill;  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Financial  Services  
A  BILL  
To  require  all  newly  constructed,  federally  assisted,  single-  
family  houses  and  town  houses  to  meet  minimum  stand-
ards of visitability for persons with disabilities. 
Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This  Act  may  be  cited  as  the  ‘‘Eleanor  Smith  Inclu-4
sive Home Design Act of 2026’’. 5
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6
As used in this Act: 7
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(1)   COVEREDDWELLINGUNIT.—The   term   1
‘‘covered   dwelling   unit’’   means   a   dwelling   unit   2
that— 3
(A) is— 4
(i) a detached single-family house; 5
(ii)  a  townhouse,  modular  home,  or  a  6
multi-level  dwelling  unit  (whether  detached  7
or  attached  to  other  units  or  structures);  8
or 9
(iii)  a  ground-floor  unit  in  a  building  10
of not more than 3 dwelling units; 11
(B)  is  designed  as,  or  intended  for  occu-12
pancy as, a residence; 13
(C)  was  designed,  constructed,  or  commis-14
sioned,  contracted,  or  otherwise  arranged  for  15
construction,  by  any  person  or  entity  that,  at  16
any  time  before  the  design  or  construction,  re-17
ceived  or  was  guaranteed  Federal  assistance  for  18
any  program  or  activity  relating  to  the  design,  19
construction,   commissioning,   contracting,   or   20
other   arrangement   for   construction,   of   the   21
dwelling unit; and 22
(D)  is  made  available  for  first  occupancy  23
on  or  after  the  date  that  is  1  year  after  the  24
date of enactment of this Act. 25
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•HR  9932  IH
(2)  FEDERAL  ASSISTANCE.—The  term  ‘‘Federal  1
assistance’’  means  any  assistance  that  is  provided  or  2
otherwise  made  available  by  the  Federal  Govern-3
ment,   through   any   grant,   loan,   contract,   or   any   4
other  arrangement,  on  or  after  the  date  that  is  1  5
year  after  the  date  of  enactment  of  this  Act,  includ-6
ing— 7
(A)  a  grant,  a  subsidy,  or  any  other  funds;  8
(B)  a  service  provided  by  a  Federal  em-9
ployee  or  an  employee  of  a  person  or  entity  that  10
receives  a  grant  from  the  Federal  Government;  11
(C)  real  or  personal  property  or  any  inter-12
est in or use of such property, including— 13
(i)  a  transfer  or  lease  of  the  property;  14
and 15
(ii)  proceeds  from  a  subsequent  trans-16
fer  or  lease  of  the  property  if  the  Federal  17
share  of  the  fair  market  value  is  not  re-18
turned to the Federal Government; 19
(D) any— 20
(i) tax credit; or 21
(ii)  mortgage  or  loan  guarantee  or  in-22
surance; and 23
(E)  community  development  funds  in  the  24
form  of  an  obligation  guaranteed  under  section  25
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•HR  9932  IH
108  of  the  Housing  and  Community  Develop-1
ment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5308). 2
(3)   M
ODULARHOME.—The   term   ‘‘modular   3
home’’ means a home that is— 4
(A)  constructed  in  a  factory  in  1  or  more  5
modules   meeting   applicable   State   and   local   6
building  codes  of  the  area  of  the  home  building  7
site; and 8
(B)  transported  to  the  home  building  site,  9
installed on foundations, and completed. 10
(4)  P
ERSON  OR  ENTITY.—The  term  ‘‘person  or  11
entity’’  includes  an  individual,  corporation  (including  12
a   not-for-profit   corporation),   partnership,   associa-13
tion,  labor  organization,  legal  representative,  mutual  14
corporation,   joint-stock   company,   trust,   unincor-15
porated  association,  trustee,  trustee  in  a  case  under  16
title   11,   United   States   Code,   receiver,   fiduciary,   17
Tribal  government,  territorial  government,  or  local  18
government. 19
SEC. 3. VISITABILITY REQUIREMENT. 20
It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  person  or  entity,  with  21
respect  to  a  covered  dwelling  unit  designed,  constructed,  22
or  commissioned,  contracted,  or  otherwise