NAHB Leaders Call on Treasury Secretary to Expand PPP Eligibility for Builders

Codes and Standards
Published

NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke and CEO Jerry Howard held a virtual discussion with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin today and urged the secretary to expand eligibility under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to allow more workers in the residential construction sector to access the loan program.

Specifically, NAHB called on Secretary Mnuchin to provide a waiver from eligibility restrictions in the existing Small Business Administration 7(a) loan program to allow single-family and multifamily home builders, land developers, multifamily property owners and 501(c)(6) organizations access to the PPP.

Those 7(a) guidelines contain a list of ineligible businesses for 7(a) loans including, among others, businesses engaged in building “homes for future sale,” land developers and multifamily property owners.

The NAHB leaders said that the guidance should reflect congressional intent that all small businesses in the residential home construction and remodeling industry should have access to these critically important PPP funds during the COVID-19 crisis.

“Builders have been denied loans because of the guidance and many more have not bothered to apply for fear of wasting their time,” said Fowke. “And some who build spec and contract homes have received money but fear their loans will not be forgiven. Again, we believe this runs counter to the congressional intent of the CARES Act to help the broadest universe of small businesses through the COVID-19 disaster.”

“We need your help to ensure all small businesses in the residential construction and remodeling sector have access to these funds and we need your help providing certainty to the small businesses in our sector that were lucky enough to receive funds.”

NAHB is also working with Congress to achieve a legislative solution.

Subscribe to NAHBNow

Log in or create account to subscribe to notifications of new posts.

Log in to subscribe

Latest from NAHBNow

Advocacy

Jun 11, 2025

More than 1,000 Housing Professionals Urge Congress to Act on Key Affordability Issues

More than 1,000 builders, remodelers and associates engaged in all facets of the residential construction industry trekked to Capitol Hill today to urge their lawmakers to support policies that will help builders unleash the housing market by allowing them to increase the production of quality, affordable housing.

Land Development | Advocacy | State and Local Government Affairs Committee

Jun 10, 2025

Confronting the Challenges of “Not in My Backyard (NIMBY)” Attitudes

NIMBY or NIMBYism is a common term that stands for “Not In My Backyard.” NIMBYism often arises during the planning process for housing developments. NAHB has developed a new resource to help combat NIMBYism by highlighting the value new housing can add to local communities.

View all

Latest Economic News

Economics

Jun 11, 2025

Inflation Up Slightly in May

Despite inflationary pressure from tariffs, inflation in May rose slightly but came in softer than expected. The Consumer Price Index increased from 2.3% in April to 2.4% in May year-over-year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ report.

Economics

Jun 10, 2025

House Price Appreciation by State and Metro Area: First Quarter 2025

House price growth slowed in the first quarter of 2025, partly due to a decline in demand and an increase in supply. Persistent high mortgage rates and increased inventory combined to ease upward pressure on house prices. These factors signaled a cooling market, following rapid gains seen in previous years.

Economics

Jun 09, 2025

AI’s Role in Reshaping Employment: From Theory to Home Building Sector Impacts

The rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly machine learning and generative AI (GenAI), is reshaping industries, creating new economic opportunities, and raising critical questions about its long-term impact on jobs and economic growth.