Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), along with co-sponsor Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), is aiming to fight the housing crisis with grants for rural homeowners seeking to renovate their property and install new rental units.

“Communities all across Maine and the nation are facing a serious housing shortage,” said Sen. King. “Unfortunately, one law we can’t repeal in Congress is the law of supply and demand. And right now our rural communities, in particular, are up against a short supply problem coupled with serious demand — leaving many people without a place to live that is affordable or close to their community.”

“This bipartisan, commonsense effort is another step toward combating the housing crisis and ensuring Maine people can live where they work. By making it more affordable for folks to renovate their homes, or build news one, we can help offset the rural housing shortage,” he added.

“There is a high demand for rural housing across Kansas, and it’s important that our housing programs offer creative solutions to address this issue,” said Sen. Moran.

The proposed Farmhouse-to-Workforce Housing Act, first introduced in 2024, would offer up to $100,000 in grants to rural homeowners renovating their homes to include a rental unit or building a new rental structure on their property.

The grants would come as an expansion of the existing Housing Preservation Grants (HPG) program. According to King, the current HPG grants are underutilized and only cover small costs and repairs.

The grants will only be available to build on properties that already have a home over 25 years old, and will not be given to anyone making over 150 percent of the median income for their area.

The bill, intended primarily to help low- and middle-class Americans, includes protections to prevent the grants from being used by corporate developers or homeowners seeking to quickly increase their property value before selling.

Grant recipients must live on the property being developed for at least five years following the grant; otherwise, they will be required to repay the full amount of the funds received.

Additionally, the grant requires that the new rental units cannot be leased for terms of less than six months.

Although a recipient can receive up to $100,000, the funding received under the grant cannot exceed 50 percent of the total cost of the project.

King’s bill would appropriate a total of $200 million to fund the grants, to remain available until the full amount is expended.

While King’s bipartisan bill seeks to address the very real housing crisis and could greatly benefit rural homeowners, it could face an uphill battle in the legislature because it seeks a substantial appropriation of funds at a time when the Trump Administration, along with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), works to cut excess spending.