FHA Issues Temporary Waiver for New Single-Family Flood Elevation Requirements
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has announced a temporary waiver for new construction in Special Flood Hazard Areas as part of the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard requirements issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development for single-family construction that took effect on Jan. 1, 2025.
The waiver means that the new elevation standard requiring that the lowest floor of new construction be at least two feet above the base flood elevation has been rescinded. This waiver applies to FHA-insured mortgages on new single-family construction.
In making its announcement, FHA said: “Without this partial waiver, the new MPS (minimum property standards) required elevation standard would have limited the land available for development and increased the cost of construction for FHA-insured single-family properties, thereby contributing to the insufficient supply of new construction housing and rising home prices.”
The partial waiver will be in effect for one year until Feb. 21, 2026.
Latest from NAHBNow
Membership
Aug 25, 2026
NAHB Mourns the Passing of Past President Shirley McVay Wiseman
Shirley McVay Wiseman, 1989 NAHB president, passed away on Sunday, Aug. 23. A pioneer in the home building industry, Wiseman was the first woman elected president of NAHB.
Economics
Aug 25, 2026
Economic Uncertainty, Affordability Challenges Weigh on New Home Sales
Sales of newly built single-family homes declined 10.5% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 607,000, following a sharply upwardly revised June estimate, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The pace of new home sales was 6.3% lower than a year earlier.
Latest Economic News
Economics
Aug 25, 2026
Economic Uncertainty, Affordability Challenges Weigh on New Home Sales
Elevated borrowing costs, rising inflation and broad economic uncertainty continue to curb buyer demand and hold back new home sales.
Economics
Aug 24, 2026
Second Quarter 2026 Multifamily Construction Data
According to NAHB analysis of quarterly Census data, the count of multifamily, for-rent housing starts increased year-over-year during the second quarter of 2026.
Economics
Aug 24, 2026
Cost of Materials Rises, Especially for Smaller Builders
Material costs increased by 6.7% over the previous year, according to results from the survey for the July 2026 NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).