Federal housing law · Public Law 119-101 · Section 210

The RESIDE Act, explained:Section 210 of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act

The RESIDE Act is a federal pilot program for converting vacant and abandoned commercial buildings into attainable housing. It became law on July 11, 2026, as Section 210 of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. HUD would award the grants, $1 million to $10 million each, to states and cities rather than developers, but Congress has not yet funded it.

The statute says who gets the money and which buildings qualify. It cannot say which buildings the money would actually convert. This site works that out building by building in San Jose, Denver and Philadelphia. In Downtown San Jose, 14 buildings holding 2,111 homes would pencil only with a grant, if they qualified for one.

Checked against the enacted text of Public Law 119-101 · Updated September 14, 2026 · Method and sources

San Jose →Denver →Philadelphia →

Where the law stands

Last checked September 9, 2026

Introduced (done)Sep 26, 2025H.R. 5591
Passed House (done)Feb 9, 2026in H.R. 6644
Passed Senate (done)Mar 12, 2026amended
Final text agreed (done)Jun 23, 2026Senate 85–5
Became law (done)Jul 11, 2026Pub. L. 119-101
Funded (not yet)Nothing appropriated
HUD notice (not yet)No NOFO, rule or guidance

399 buildings screened in three cities

Every commercial building at least 60 feet tall, scored on its floor plates and its numbers from each city’s own GIS data. Each dot is a building; the darker, the stronger the candidate.

Downtown San Jose

Screened: 82
Pencil unsubsidized: 16
Unlocked by RESIDE: 14

CA-18 · data of 2026-09-12

Greater Downtown Denver

Screened: 214
Pencil unsubsidized: 0
Worth a study: 194

CO-1 · data of 2026-09-19

Center City Philadelphia

Screened: 103
Pencil unsubsidized: 0
Worth a study: 66

PA-2 & PA-3 · data of 2026-09-15

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, with no fix 90 days after the owner was notified, or ones in court-ordered receivership, in nuisance abatement, or abandoned under state law. 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 spread the money across as many grants as it can.
Funding: None yet. The law authorizes the program only subject to appropriations and authorizes no new funding. As of September 9, 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 September 9, 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 its 59 sections.

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.

The final law is not the bill most coverage describes. As introduced (H.R. 5591), RESIDE would have let HUD use up to $100 million a year of HOME funding above $1.35 billion for a “Blighted Building to Housing Conversion Program.” The enacted Section 210 drops that funding source and that name. The pilot runs only on money Congress appropriates for it, and Section 1202 of the Act states that no additional funds are authorized to carry it out.

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 74 of the 82 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.

February 9, 2026: the House passes the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, H.R. 6644.
March 12, 2026: the Senate passes an amended version.
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.
June 29, 2026: the bill is presented to the President.
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 82 commercial buildings at least 60 feet tall in Downtown San Jose, 16 pencil for housing with no subsidy. 14 more, holding 2,111 homes, would pencil only with a RESIDE Act grant, if they met the law’s vacant-and-abandoned test. The other 52 do not pencil even with one, at default assumptions. That middle group is what a conversion grant is for.

Questions

What is the RESIDE Act and is it law?

Yes, it is law. The RESIDE Act — Revitalizing Empty Structures Into Desirable Environments — was introduced as H.R. 5591 and enacted as Section 210 of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (Public Law 119-101), which became law without the President's signature on July 11, 2026. It authorizes HUD to run a pilot program, in fiscal years 2027 through 2031, of competitive grants to states and local governments to convert vacant and abandoned commercial and industrial buildings into attainable housing.

Who wrote the RESIDE Act?

Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-CA) introduced it in the House 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, on July 24, 2025. It became law as Section 210 of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.

Which buildings qualify for a RESIDE Act grant?

Far fewer than "empty offices" suggests. The law covers only a vacant and abandoned building: one built as a warehouse, factory, mall, strip mall or hotel, or for another commercial or industrial use such as offices, that code enforcement has found unsafe, with no corrective action 90 days after the owner was notified, or that is in court-ordered receivership or nuisance abatement, or is abandoned under state law. A building that is merely empty does not qualify. The homes it creates must be attainable housing, serving households earning up to 120% of area median income, with most units affordable at 60%.

How much money does the RESIDE Act actually provide?

None yet. The law authorizes the pilot only "subject to the availability of funds appropriated," authorizes no new funding, and as of September 9, 2026, Congress had appropriated nothing for it. In a year Congress provides at least $100 million, each grant is between $1 million and $10 million; with less, HUD must spread the money across as many grants as it can. The often quoted $100 million a year from HOME funding above $1.35 billion comes from the introduced bill and is not in the law.

Who can apply for a RESIDE Act grant?

States and local governments that are HOME participating jurisdictions. Developers and building owners cannot apply directly.

When can cities apply for RESIDE Act grants?

Not yet. As of September 9, 2026, HUD had issued no Notice of Funding Opportunity, guidance or rule for the pilot, and Congress had appropriated no money for it. The law authorizes HUD to establish the program but does not require it to. The earliest year it can run is fiscal year 2027, which begins October 1, 2026.

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 “unlocked by RESIDE” 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 three study areas — Downtown San Jose, Greater Downtown Denver and Center City Philadelphia — 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.