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S 2690Housing

Towns and Cities - Low and Moderate Income Housing

Updates the state affordable housing database to include moderate-income units, mandates property owner participation, and adds user alert features.

Signed into law65 Yea0 Nay10 Not voting
Population
Affected
35
Email Legislator
Introduced Feb 27, 2026Committee Senate Housing & Municipal Government

Plain-English Summary

This legislation updates the requirements for a state-run online database of affordable housing. It transfers responsibility to the Executive Office of Housing or Rhode Island Housing and expands the scope to include "moderate-income" housing in addition to low-income units. The bill mandates that the database include current inventory, contact information, and application details. It also requires the system to alert users when suitable housing becomes available. Furthermore, the bill makes it mandatory for owners of qualifying affordable housing properties to list their units on this database starting in 2027.

For younger readers

This law helps people find homes that cost less money. The state already has a list of affordable homes on a computer website, but this law makes the list better. It says that the people who own these houses must put them on the list so everyone can see them. It also lets people sign up to get a message when a house they might want becomes available. This helps families, older people, and others find a safe place to live more easily.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Low-income rentersModerate-income homebuyersAffordable housing property ownersExecutive Office of HousingRhode Island Housing
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
Amount unknown
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Increases equity and access for marginalized communities by creating a centralized, transparent source of information for available affordable housing, reducing the "who you know" barrier to entry.
  • Specifically highlights and tracks housing availability for vulnerable populations, including the homeless, disabled individuals, and victims of domestic violence, strengthening the social safety net.
  • Mandates that landlords participate in the system, preventing property owners from hiding availability or selectively advertising units in a way that could facilitate discrimination.
  • The implementation date is delayed until January 2027, failing to provide immediate relief or assistance to families currently suffering in the housing crisis.
  • Focuses entirely on administrative organization (a database) rather than allocating funds to actually build new units or subsidize rent, ignoring the root cause of the shortage.
  • Reliance on an online-only database may inadvertently exclude the poorest residents or elderly individuals who lack consistent internet access or digital literacy skills.
For Conservatives
  • Improves market efficiency by streamlining information, allowing consumers to find housing independently without relying heavily on government caseworkers.
  • Increases transparency regarding state-subsidized assets, ensuring the public knows exactly where low and moderate-income housing inventory is located.
  • Encourages individual responsibility by providing tools (like email alerts) that allow residents to actively search for housing rather than waiting for a handout or placement.
  • Imposes a government mandate on private property owners (even those with affordable designations) to list their inventory on a state-run system, infringing on their management rights.
  • Expands the administrative state by requiring government agencies to build, host, and manage a complex database system, likely incurring taxpayer costs.
  • Interferes with the free market by dictating the specific timing of when a property owner must list their units (e.g., prior to opening or resale).

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 26 additions · 12 deletions

SECTION 1. Section 45-53-14 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-53 entitled "Low and Moderate Income Housing" is hereby amended to read as follows: 45-53-14. Database of low-income rental units Database of low- or moderate- income rental units.

(a) The executive office of housing established pursuant to § 42-167-1 or the Rhode Island housing and mortgage finance corporation established pursuant to § 42-55-4 (the “corporation”) shall maintain host an online database (“database”) of residential developments that meet the definition of low- or moderate-income housing under § 45-53-3 low-income housing tax credit developments that are designated only for households at or below sixty percent (60%) of area median income, adjusted for household size and subsidized housing developments, as referenced in the corporation’s Rhode Island resource guide, which are designated only for households at or below eighty percent (80%) of area median income, adjusted for household size (collectively “low- income rental units”) in the state on the executive office of housing or the corporation’s website. The corporation shall place an emphasis on To the extent possible, the database containing shall contain the following:

(1) Current, updated information on the existing inventory of low- or moderate-income rental units housing in the state;

(2) The contact person or entity and contact information pertaining to individual developments;

(3) To the extent the information is available, a A copy of the application to apply for housing in individual developments; and

(4) Information pertaining to any special populations, including, but not limited to, elderly, disabled, homeless individuals, and victims of domestic violence, served by individual developments.

(5) To the extent possible, the database shall allow individuals to identify the different types of affordable housing they are interested in and be alerted when developments that meet that criteria become available for lease or sale.

(b) This database shall be accessible to the public by July 1, 2023.

SECTION 2. Chapter 45-53 of the General Laws entitled "Low and Moderate Income Housing" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 45-53-14.1. Listing by owners of low- or moderate-income housing.

(a) Any owner of a property qualifying as low- or moderate-income housing, as defined by § 45-53-3, shall list that property on the database referenced in § 45-53-14.

(b) For developments completed after January 1, 2027, the property should be listed prior to or concurrently with the opening of the property for lease-up, accepting applications or, in the case of homeownership units, listing units for sale.

(c) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b) of this section, low- or moderate-income homeownership units shall only be listed on the database prior to their initial sale and prior to or concurrently with listing the property for re-sale.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2027.