Delivering Americans Affordable Homes Act

What it does

• •Establishes a Housing Liaison Office within the U.S. Postal Service to identify, inventory, and lease Postal Service real property for residential housing development.
• •Authorizes the Postal Service to enter into long-term leases (minimum 60 years) with public entities and development partners for housing projects, including leasing air rights and ground rights.
• •Requires lease agreements to include affordability provisions: at least 20% of units must be affordable to households earning 80% or less of Area Median Income for at least 50 years.
• •Mandates prevailing wage standards for construction work and preserves historic New Deal-era art at Postal Service properties subject to leases.

Why it matters

• •Addresses a stated national housing supply shortage by deploying approximately 8,500 Postal Service-owned parcels across the country for residential development.
• •Creates a revenue source for the Postal Service, which has reported annual net losses since fiscal year 2007 (including a $9 billion loss in fiscal year 2025).
• •Prioritizes affordable housing development and requires that partnerships demonstrate commitment to federal, state, or local housing subsidies.

Who is affected

• •State, local, and Tribal governments and their development partners, including private entities, nonprofits, public housing agencies, and local housing finance agencies.
• •The U.S. Postal Service and its operations, which retain mail delivery functionality and receive lease revenue while potentially consolidating or relocating some facilities.
• •Households earning 80% or less of Area Median Income in communities where Postal Service properties are developed for housing.

What happens next

The bill has been introduced in the Senate and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; it awaits committee review and further legislative action.