Which empty buildings could the RESIDE Act turn into homes?

The RESIDE Act at a glance

Full name

Revitalizing Empty Structures Into Desirable Environments Act.

Status

Law. Section 210 of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (Public Law 119-101, H.R. 6644), which became law without the President's signature on July 11, 2026. First introduced on its own as H.R. 5591.

What it funds

A HUD pilot program of competitive grants, in fiscal years 2027 through 2031, to convert vacant and abandoned buildings into attainable housing. Grants can pay for acquisition, demolition, hazard remediation, site preparation, construction and renovation, or community land trusts and housing cooperatives.

Which buildings qualify

Only vacant and abandoned buildings built for commercial or industrial use: ones code enforcement has found unsafe, where at least 90 days have passed since the owner was notified and the owner has taken no corrective action, or ones in court-ordered receivership or nuisance abatement related to abandonment, or that meet state law's definition of abandoned property. An office building that is simply empty does not qualify.

Housing it must create

Attainable housing: serving households earning up to 120% of area median income, with most units affordable at 60%.

Who can apply

HOME participating jurisdictions: states and local governments. Developers and building owners cannot apply directly.

Grant size

$1 million to $10 million per grant in any year Congress provides at least $100 million. In a year with less, HUD must seek to maximize the number of grants awarded.

Funding

None yet. The law authorizes the program only subject to appropriations and authorizes no new funding. As of October 28, 2026, no money had been appropriated for it.

Priorities

Economically distressed communities, Opportunity Zones, needs in the city's consolidated plan, and cities that have passed ordinances easing conversion.

Can anyone apply yet?

No. As of October 28, 2026, HUD had published no Notice of Funding Opportunity, guidance or rule for the program.

From the enacted text and the Bipartisan Policy Center’s implementation tracker. What the Act funds, in detail

Where the RESIDE Act fits in the ROAD to Housing Act

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is the broad federal housing law Congress passed in June 2026. The RESIDE Act is one of the 59 sections in its 12 titles.

The RESIDE Act is Section 210, in Title II, “Building More in America.” It adds a new section to the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, the law that created the HOME Investment Partnerships program, which is why its grants go to HOME participating jurisdictions. For the rest of the law, including what is in it, how Congress voted and when it takes effect, see the ROAD to Housing Act explained.

Other sections matter for conversions too. Section 206 gives HUD-funded conversions of existing office buildings a lighter environmental review, Section 501 and Section 204 widen what HOME and CDBG money can pay for, and Section 201 lets HUD favor housing grants in Opportunity Zones, where 42 of the 47 buildings screened in Downtown San Jose sit.

Read the enacted text at GovInfo · Section-by-section summary (Bipartisan Policy Center)

Who wrote the RESIDE Act

A bipartisan group in each chamber, led in the House by Rep. Sam Liccardo, who represents California's 16th District and was mayor of San Jose from 2015 through 2022.

Rep. Liccardo introduced the RESIDE Act as H.R. 5591 on September 26, 2025, with Reps. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL), Johnny Olszewski (D-MD) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA). Sens. Jim Banks (R-IN) and Mark Warner (D-VA) had introduced the Senate version, S. 2460, that July. Neither passed on its own; the program became law inside the larger housing package.

1. February 9, 2026: the House passes the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, H.R. 6644.
2. March 12, 2026: the Senate passes an amended version.
3. May 20 to June 23, 2026: the chambers settle the final text. The Senate votes 85–5 on June 22, and the House agrees the next day.
4. June 29, 2026: the bill is presented to the President.
5. July 11, 2026: it becomes law without his signature, as Public Law 119-101.

Four sections of the final Act began as bills Rep. Liccardo led or co-led, according to his office:

Section 205, BUILD Housing Act

Lets HUD designate more of its housing assistance so that state and local governments, and now tribes, can carry out its federal environmental reviews themselves. (H.R. 4810, introduced by Rep. Liccardo with Rep. Mike Flood (R-NE).)

Section 206, Unlocking Housing Supply Through Streamlined and Modernized Reviews Act

Moves many HUD-assisted housing activities into lighter environmental review categories, including conversions of existing office buildings into housing within limits on size change and unit count. (H.R. 4660, introduced by Rep. Flood with Rep. Liccardo.)

Section 210, RESIDE Act

The conversion grant pilot explained on this page. (H.R. 5591, introduced by Rep. Liccardo.)

Section 303, Property Improvement and Manufactured Housing Loan Modernization Act

Raises FHA loan limits for home improvements and manufactured homes, makes accessory dwelling units eligible, and indexes the limits annually. (H.R. 7792, introduced by Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) with Rep. Liccardo among its original cosponsors.)

Why most empty offices never become homes

Cities have published vacancy reports for years, and conversions still rarely happen. Often the limit is the building. Apartments need windows, and a deep office floor leaves a dark core that has to be gutted, braced and sprinklered but can never be rented. Where the floor plates work, the numbers still have to.

Of the 47 commercial buildings at least 60 feet tall that city data shows in Downtown San Jose, 12 pencil for housing with no subsidy. 10 more, holding 1,182 homes, would pencil only with a RESIDE Act grant, if they met the law’s vacant-and-abandoned test and every home rented at market rates. RESIDE homes must be attainable, so that count is optimistic. The other 25 do not pencil even with one, at default assumptions. That middle group is what a conversion grant is for.

Questions

What this site can't tell you yet

This is a screen built from public data, not a feasibility study or a grant application. Its gaps are listed here so no one mistakes it for more.

• Which buildings qualify for RESIDE. The law requires a code-enforcement finding, receivership or abandonment. The open city data this model uses has none of those records, so every “pencil with a grant” result assumes a building would qualify.
• Affordable-housing economics. RESIDE housing must serve households up to 120% of area median income, with most units affordable at 60%. The model values every home at market rate, so its grant results are optimistic.
• How HUD will size awards. There is no funding notice yet, so the per-building award formula is an assumption. Why that choice matters.
• What is inside the buildings. Geometry comes from footprints and published heights. The model cannot see interior cores, columns, ceiling heights, post-tension slabs, leases or which buildings are vacant.
• Anywhere else. It covers five study areas — Downtown San Jose, Greater Downtown Denver, Center City Philadelphia, Downtown Boston and Downtown San Francisco — and only works where a city publishes building heights.

A high score means a building is worth a professional feasibility study, never that it is convertible. Each district page states its limits in full.

Have a building in mind? The law sets the rules; a plan tests one building against them. See whether it pencils, how its homes lay out and which funding applies, in a free two-page packet.