Meeting the Housing Needs of Native Communities

May 7, 2026 Rebecca Orbach

This article is originally published at the Bipartisan Policy Center here: Meeting the Housing Needs of Native Communities

Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act’s (NAHASDA)

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities face distinct housing challenges, such as overcrowding, substandard housing on tribal lands, and more limited access to mortgage credit. According to a 2017 study by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), an estimated 68,000 new homes are needed to eliminate overcrowding and replace physically deficient housing. These issues are compounded by complex federal-tribal governance, insufficient funding, and varying needs across different tribal areas. Despite these hurdles, the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act’s (NAHASDA) programs have made significant progress in addressing housing gaps, though challenges such as outdated funding levels and bureaucratic obstacles remain.

Background

The federal government’s role in providing housing assistance to AI/AN communities has evolved significantly over the past 60 years. With the passage of NAHASDA in 1996, HUD reorganized its tribal housing assistance programs and reoriented them to better support tribal sovereignty and self-determination. It eliminated nine of the 14 housing assistance programs serving AI/AN communities and replaced them with two new programs: the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) Program (also called the Native American Housing Block Grant Program) and the Title VI Loan Guarantee Program.

The IHBG program provides grants to eligible Indian tribes (including Alaska Native villages) and tribally designated housing entities (TDHEs), which are chosen by tribes to receive funds from HUD and use them to administer their housing programs. IHBG funds can be used for six types of activities, as well as for planning and administrative expenses. Additionally, funding can be allocated for training and technical assistance provided to national or regional organizations representing Native American housing interests. IHBG allocations follow a set formula, which considers factors such as the extent of poverty, the number of housing units developed under previous housing programs that continue to be operated by the tribe, and the population of federally recognized tribal members. In 2018, Congress introduced additional IHBG funding through the IHBG Competitive Grant Program, which awards grants based on “need and administrative capacity” and prioritizes projects that would generate new construction or rehabilitation.

NAHASDA also created the Title VI Loan Guarantee Program to help AI/AN communities finance additional grant-eligible housing projects and related activities. The program enables Indian tribes and TDHEs to obtain private loans with a HUD guarantee, covering 95% of the outstanding principal and interest. These loans can fund affordable housing creation or rehabilitation, infrastructure or community facility construction, land acquisition for housing, architectural and engineering plans, and financing costs. Title VI loans are capped at roughly five times the need-based portion of the recipient’s IHBG allocation with no minimum loan size.    

Allocation of Funds and Impact

Although Congress has continued to fund NAHASDA programs annually, it has not been reauthorized since 2008. For decades, IHBG funding also remained largely static, resulting in a decline in real terms due to inflation. Between fiscal year 2001 and fiscal year 2023, the annual appropriation for IHBG formula grants decreased by 29% when adjusted for inflation while HUD’s overall budget grew by 58% in real terms. Starting in FY2022, Congress began significantly increasing appropriation levels.

NAHASDA programs have created and preserved a significant number of affordable housing units in AI/AN communities nationwide. As of FY2024, IHBG has supported the construction, acquisition, and rehabilitation of over 161,143 housing units. In addition, the Title VI Loan Program has issued 119 loan guarantees totalling over $298 million, resulting in the rehabilitation, development, or infrastructure installation of roughly 3,599 affordable housing units.  

Program Criticisms and Potential Reforms

While AI/AN communities have been largely supportive of NAHASDA, some organizations, members of Congress, and others have advocated for policy reforms and improvements. The National American Indian Housing Council (NAIHC), an organization representing hundreds of Indian tribes and TDHEs, listed NAHASDA reauthorization as a top priority and proposed specific recommendations to improve its programs. Frequently raised concerns include the need to streamline program requirements, increase flexibility for communities to set their own program requirements, and ensure HUD responds more promptly to requests for approvals and waivers. NAIHC has also highlighted how NAHASDA restricts AI/AN communities from accessing many other HUD programs, such as tenant-based vouchers.

Additionally, some members of Congress have raised concerns about NAHASDA’s programs, particularly the high balance of unexpended IHBG funds. Delays are largely due to the unique challenges faced by AI/AN communities, such as slow construction timelines and limited capacity. Some Indian tribes and THDEs are in remote areas lacking basic infrastructure, including water systems or roads, which hinders their ability to secure workers and materials for housing development. In one grantee community, temperatures fell below freezing on 230 days of the year, limiting the construction season to about four months. Furthermore, grantees’ limited administrative capacity—from small staff sizes, high turnover, and various administrative changes—significantly hampers their efficiency and complicates compliance with complex federal rules and regulations. In response to these concerns, a final rule was published in 2016 revising the IHBG formula to account for undisbursed funds.

In 2000, Congress amended NAHASDA to include Title VIII, establishing the Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant (NHHBG) program, which is similar to the IHBG for Native Hawaiians residing on Hawaiian Home Lands. The eligible activities for NHHBG closely align with those of IHBG. However, recent annual funding levels for the NHHBG have ranged from less than 1% to 3% of the funding IHBG receives. ¹ Consequently, the program has built, acquired, and rehabilitated only 769 homes.

Some members of Congress have raised concerns that NHHBG could be interpreted as providing assistance based on race. ² For example, during a 2007 debate on NAHASDA reauthorization, then-Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) introduced an amendment, which ultimately failed, that would eliminate NHHBG, citing the program’s potential unconstitutionality and its divisive impact.

Reauthorization Efforts

Since its authorization lapsed in 2013, many NAHASDA reauthorization bills have been introduced in Congress but have failed to garner enough support to become law. This Congress, the bipartisan Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Modernization Act of 2026 (H.R. 8092/S. 4276) was introduced in both the House and Senate. While the House and Senate versions are not identical, similar to past legislative efforts, both bills would both reauthorize NAHASDA programs and implement certain reforms, such as streamlining program processes and requirements, expanding access to federal resources, and increasing oversight. The bills also include a number of new provisions:

• An exemption from Build America, Buy America requirements for federally funded tribal housing 
• Environmental review reforms that will add new categorical exclusions and allow TDHEs to certify reviews in addition to tribes
• Changes to facilitate tribal participation in the Continuum of Care program, including an exemption from consolidated plan requirements and HUD authority to waive or specify alternatives for certain other requirements

Conclusion

Nearly 30 years after becoming law, NAHASDA continues to provide vital assistance to AI/AN communities facing some of the worst housing needs in the country. Congress has continued to fund NAHASDA programs, but without reauthorization, AI/AN communities will lack the stable, sufficient assistance needed to fully address their housing needs. Although policy disputes have stalled past reauthorization bills, there has been a renewed bipartisan, bicameral effort in the 119th Congress.