Federal bill would let FHA finance condo repairs and special assessments
Federal bill would let FHA finance condo repairs and special assessments
2026-09-09 · District of Columbia · Legislation · Pending — not yet law
A bill before Congress would let the Federal Housing Administration insure loans a condominium association takes out to repair its building, and let individual owners finance a special assessment through an FHA rehabilitation mortgage. For a District of Columbia building facing a seven-figure facade or structural assessment, that is the difference between owners borrowing at credit-card rates and borrowing at FHA rates.
H.R. 9569, the Making Condos Safer and Affordable Act of 2026, is not law. It was introduced on June 30, 2026 by Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida with Representative María Elvira Salazar, referred to the House Committee on Financial Services, and has had no further action.1
What it would do
Two amendments to the National Housing Act.
Section 234 for associations. FHA's Section 234 programme covers condominium housing. The bill would allow FHA to insure condominium association rehabilitation loans — borrowing by the association itself, secured against its assessment stream, to fund common-element repair.
Section 203(k) for owners. FHA's 203(k) rehabilitation mortgage lets a borrower finance repairs alongside a purchase or refinance. The bill would expand it so an individual unit owner can finance a special assessment.
It is a Community Associations Institute federal advocacy priority for 2026.
Why the gap it targets is real
An association facing a large capital need has three options today, and each has a defect. A special assessment demands cash from owners who may not have it, and produces delinquency. A bank loan to the association is available but on commercial terms, typically shorter and dearer than mortgage financing, and small associations often cannot obtain one at all. Or the board defers the work, which is how buildings arrive at the condition that makes the assessment unaffordable in the first place.
A federally insured association rehabilitation loan would sit between the first two.
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