What Democrats would do about Gen Z’s housing crisis if they win Congress

Generation Z wants legislation that targets affordability and housing costs. Democrats think they can do it better than Republicans.

About two-thirds of young adults struggle to cover housing costs. And recent housing numbers aren’t promising, either: Single-family housing starts and building permits, a measure of future construction, fell 4.56 percent and 4 percent in September, respectively, per the U.S. census.

The National Association of Home Builders also released an October survey on homebuilder sentiment on Tuesday, which came in at the lowest level in 14 years.

Over the summer, Congress signed a sweeping housing package into law with overwhelming bipartisan support, driven by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and French Hill (R-Ark.).

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act was the most significant legislation on the subject to pass in decades, with 45 different provisions accrued from different lawmakers’ bills across both chambers that made it easier to build new housing and pushed against private equity firms buying up single-family homes.

But other factors are making it more expensive to build homes, including the tariff battle with Canada and the war in Iran, which has led to higher energy prices and, indirectly, rising inflation and interest rates.

All of that may put a damper on the bill’s impact.

Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), the sole Gen Z member of Congress, told The Hill that housing will be a top priority for House Democrats, should they retake the lower chamber.

“The first thing we have to do is greatly expand the inventory of affordable housing,” Frost said, pointing to block grants, like the Community Development Block Grant Program, and other things to “incentivize local governments that push the production of affordable housing.”

The Florida congressman added that more housing isn’t the only solution — Congress needs to address ways renters are “taken advantage of via junk fees and credit scores being used as the end-all bill to decide whether or not they can rent,” Frost said.

But he also wants to make homeownership more in reach for younger Americans. The average age of first-time homebuyers has skyrocketed well beyond the age of Gen Zers.

“If we can slash it by 12 years in the next 4 years, I think that will be a really good start,” he said.

When asked if collaboration between Democrats and Republicans is possible on this issue, the congressman had mixed feelings.

“I think there’s going to be some bipartisanship on the building aspect of things. I think a lot of that falls apart when we talk about the cost associated with it,” he said.

Warren told The Washington Sun that a ROAD to Housing 2.0 bill is underway, “with lots of room to expand.”

She also said if Democrats take Congress in 2026, they would push for new housing legislation focused on “starter homes, renters and manufactured housing.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) told The Hill in a statement she believes “too many young people are working hard and still finding that rent takes too much of their paycheck to get ahead.”

“We need to make housing more affordable so young people can build a future, save for a home, and have the opportunity to thrive,” Klobuchar continued.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), vice chair of the Congressional Renters Caucus, said she has pushed for federal housing reforms, but many bills under the current Republican-majority Congress have been shot down.

“With a Democratic majority, we can and must provide essential support for young adults amid Trump’s housing and affordability crisis,” she said in a statement to The Hill.

Her proposed legislation includes help for first-time, first-generation homebuyers; protection against illegal evictions; and safeguarding tenants’ right to stable and affordable housing.

Lucas Holtz, a senior political adviser at Third Way, a Democratic, D.C.-based think tank, says young voters who complained about Democrats and the economy in 2024 are now raising the same concern with the Trump administration.

“They are pissed, and Republicans promised they would lower costs,” Holtz said.

Third Way has focused on why young men — a key demographic for President Trump in 2024 — believe the president has failed them.

Research shows that 61 percent of young men say Trump is failing to fulfill his campaign promises, including a quarter of young Republican men.

Meanwhile, Democrats are running on housing and “making life more affordable” campaigns, Holtz said, which stick out to Gen Zers.

If Democrats were to take control of Congress, Holtz believes they would focus on ending Trump’s tariffs, especially on lumber and housing materials, to make housing more affordable.

Holtz says Democrats such as Georgia Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani stick out to Gen Zers. He believes young adults’ drift toward democratic socialism is a result of tightening economic conditions.

When considering the rise in democratic socialist supporters, “it is not an endorsement of socialism, but a rejection of the current status quo of the economic system,” Holtz said.

“The left is over-performing in all of the polls and are making deep red states and districts competitive for one simple reason, because they understand voter concerns in their districts,” he added.

State Rep. Manny Rutinel, who is running for Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, told The Hill that he was one of few renters in the Colorado House.

Should he win the seat in November, Rutinel also said he plans to target Trump’s “corrupt, chaotic tariffs,” that “need to end immediately.”

“I know the struggle that Gen Z and young adults are enduring because, as a 31-year-old, I am going through the same hardships and fears of never being able to buy a home,” he said.

The Feed is a weekly scoop on Generation Z put together by three Generation Z editors at The Hill. We’re working to understand the ins and outs of our generation’s politics. Send tips or comments to awalker@thehill.com, jfeldstein@thehill.com or cleibowitz@thehill.com.