If you own a home, 2025 and 2026 brought a stack of new laws worth knowing about. The biggest federal change quadrupled the state and local tax deduction for most itemizers. States layered on their own changes: property tax caps in Ohio, homeowners association reforms in Minnesota, Colorado, Florida, and New York, insurance overhauls in Florida, California, and Texas, and new disclosure rules aimed at predatory home-buying tactics in Ohio and Missouri. Some rules apply to every homeowner; others only to new construction, specific states, or buyers who meet certain conditions. The new laws for homeowners described below are the ones most likely to show up on your tax return, your insurance renewal, your HOA statement, or a contract someone slides across your kitchen table.
Federal Tax Changes That Affect Your Return
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed July 4, 2025, raised the SALT deduction cap from $10,000 to $40,000 for the 2025 tax year.1National Association of Realtors. SALT Deduction Cap Delivers Relief to Homeowners If you itemize and pay significant property and state income taxes, that is the single most meaningful change for your return. The $40,000 cap applies equally to single filers and joint filers, which erases the marriage penalty built into the old $10,000 limit.2Bipartisan Policy Center. How Would the 2025 House Tax Bill Change the SALT Deduction
Higher earners get less. If your modified adjusted gross income tops $500,000, the cap drops by 30 cents for every dollar above that threshold, with a $10,000 floor.3Thomson Reuters. SALT Deduction Both numbers rise 1% a year through 2029 (the cap reaching $41,624 and the threshold $520,302), then reset to $10,000 in 2030 unless Congress acts again.2Bipartisan Policy Center. How Would the 2025 House Tax Bill Change the SALT Deduction
The same law locked in a few other things homeowners should know. The mortgage interest deduction is now permanently capped at $750,000 of acquisition debt, ending talk of a return to the old $1 million limit.4U.S. House Ways and Means Committee. The One Big Beautiful Bill Section by Section The federal energy efficient home improvement credit and the residential clean energy credit end for property placed in service or expenditures made after December 31, 2025, so solar panels, heat pumps, and similar upgrades installed in 2026 and later no longer qualify for those federal credits.5Internal Revenue Service. One Big Beautiful Bill Provisions The standard deduction was made permanent at higher levels: $32,600 for joint filers and $16,300 for single filers in 2026, with inflation adjustments after that. With the higher standard deduction, running the itemize-versus-standard math is worth doing even if the bigger SALT cap sounds like a clear win.
Federal Action on Housing Supply and Mortgage Rates
A January 20, 2026 executive order titled “Stopping Wall Street from Competing with Main Street Homebuyers” directed federal agencies to stop insuring, guaranteeing, or facilitating single-family home purchases by large institutional investors.6The White House. Stopping Wall Street from Competing with Main Street Homebuyers Agencies covered include USDA, HUD, VA, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, each given 60 days to issue guidance. The order does not ban institutional purchases outright and carves out build-to-rent developments that were planned, permitted, financed, and built as rental communities from the start. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was given 30 days to define “large institutional investor” and “single-family home.”
A March 13, 2026 order targets federal rules that drive up new-home construction costs. It instructs the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers to streamline water permitting, the Council on Environmental Quality to expand categorical NEPA exclusions for housing, and federal agencies to reform energy and building code requirements for new homes.7The White House. Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Removes Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Home Construction
In January 2026 the President also directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to use their cash reserves to buy $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities, with the stated goal of pushing mortgage rates down.8CNN. Mortgage Bonds Trump Purchase Rates FHFA Director Bill Pulte confirmed the initiative, and the two companies began placing sizable orders by March 2026.9Bloomberg. Fannie Freddie Place Large Bids for Mortgage-Backed Securities Refinancing applications jumped 40% during one week in January 2026, though economists cautioned the effect could be “small and short-lived.”10Marketplace. What Happens if Fannie Mae Buys Up Mortgage-Backed Securities
Ohio Property Tax Relief
Two Ohio laws signed in December 2025 are among the most significant state property tax actions anywhere. House Bill 186 creates an “Inflation Cap Credit” that prevents school district property tax bills from rising faster than inflation; the state projects nearly $1.7 billion in savings over three years. The same bill expands the owner-occupancy tax credit for about $800 million more in relief over four years. The inflation cap starts in June 2026, and the expanded owner-occupancy credit begins January 2027.11Ohio House of Representatives. Legislation Delivering Historic Property Tax Relief Signed by the Governor
House Bill 335 caps increases in “inside millage” tax collections at the rate of inflation during county reappraisals and triennial updates. Projected relief: $621 million to $763 million over three years starting January 2027.
HOA Reforms by State
If you live under a homeowners association, several states enacted or advanced significant limits on how HOAs can fine, foreclose, and govern.
Minnesota
SF1750 passed both chambers of the Minnesota legislature and awaits Governor Tim Walz’s signature as of mid-2026. The bill caps HOA fines at $100 (with exceptions for repeat violations and health or safety risks), requires board members and property managers to disclose financial conflicts of interest and recuse themselves on self-dealing votes, and lets HOAs without common elements be dissolved by a 60% homeowner vote.12Minnesota Reformer. Senate Passes Bill Reining in Homeowners Associations Unpaid fines alone cannot trigger foreclosure, and HOAs cannot charge you legal fees for disputing a fine unless a formal hearing upholds the charge.13Minnesota Senate DFL. Homeowners Association Reform Package Passes Minnesota Senate A separate state mediation office for HOA disputes was created in 2025.
Colorado
Colorado’s HB25-1043, effective October 1, 2025, lets a homeowner facing HOA foreclosure file a court motion to delay the sale up to nine months, giving time to sell at market price instead of auction. HOAs must now provide verified ledgers before taking legal action and must report foreclosure activity annually to the state.14Colorado House Democrats. Law Takes Effect to Protect Homeowners in HOA Communities This builds on 2022’s HB22-1137, which already barred foreclosure solely for unpaid fines, capped interest on unpaid assessments at 8% annually, banned daily late fees, and required repayment plans before foreclosure.15Colorado General Assembly. HB22-1137 Homeowners Association Board Accountability and Transparency
Florida
Florida’s 2025 session produced CS/CS/HB 983, which standardizes HOA elections under state law instead of individual governing documents, adds mandatory disclosures for prospective buyers, and imposes new financial reporting on private recreational amenity owners.16Florida Senate. CS/CS/HB 983 Bill Analysis
New York
New York law now requires HOAs and condo boards to give 90 days’ notice before starting foreclosure over unpaid assessments or fees, part of the housing package Governor Kathy Hochul signed in October 2025.17New York State Homes and Community Renewal. Governor Hochul Signs Legislative Package to Bolster Homeownership The same package made appraisal discrimination a violation of the state’s Human Rights Law and created new tax incentives for affordable homeownership construction and redevelopment of vacant one-to-four family homes.
Homeowners Insurance Reforms
Florida
Governor DeSantis announced in January 2026 that Citizens Property Insurance policyholders would see an average 8.7% rate reduction at spring 2026 renewal, with more than 150,000 of the 330,000 affected policyholders getting reductions of 10% or more. The steepest cuts hit South Florida: Broward averaged 14.1% and Miami-Dade 14%.18Office of Governor Ron DeSantis. Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Major Insurance Rate Relief Seventeen new insurers have entered the Florida market since reforms eliminated one-way attorney fees and curbed assignment-of-benefits abuses. Existing Florida law also blocks insurers from denying coverage based solely on the age of a roof under 15 years old and requires inspection of older roofs before mandating replacement.19Florida Legislature. Section 627.7011 Homeowner Claims
California
Nine Insurance Commissioner-sponsored laws took effect January 1, 2026. The California Safe Homes Act (AB 888) creates a grant program for fire-safe roof replacements and “Zone Zero” hardening within five feet of a home. The California Wildfire Public Model Act (SB 429) funds the first publicly available wildfire catastrophe model.20California Department of Insurance. Nine New Laws Take Effect SB 547 extended the existing one-year moratorium on non-renewals in wildfire areas to commercial properties, HOAs, condominiums, and affordable housing. AB 226 authorized the FAIR Plan to use catastrophe bonds for claim payments after major disasters.
Texas
Several Texas reforms took effect September 1, 2025. SB 1644 requires insurers to update policyholders’ credit reports every three years and adjust premiums. SB 213 bans mandatory bundling of homeowners and auto policies. HB 2067 requires written explanations when an insurer declines, cancels, or non-renews a policy. HB 3689 restructured funding for the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, replacing post-storm assessments with a state-funded arrangement repaid through statewide catastrophe surcharges.21Texas Department of Insurance. Commissioner’s Bulletin B-0012-25
Oklahoma, Colorado, Arkansas, and Connecticut
Oklahoma’s HB 3796, including a “Strengthen Oklahoma Homes Program,” was signed May 11, 2026.22Oklahoma Legislature. HB 3796 A broader “Homeowner Bill of Rights” proposal from the Oklahoma Insurance Department would add faster claims timelines, mandatory discounts for FORTIFIED-standard homes, and a bar on using aerial images alone to deny coverage.23Oklahoma Insurance Department. OID Announces 2026 Legislative Package Colorado’s HB 1182 requires insurers using wildfire or catastrophe risk models to disclose details to regulators and the public. Arkansas’s SB 366 funds a wind and hail mitigation grant program, and SB 48 requires clear disclosure of all deductibles on policy declaration pages. Connecticut now requires written flood risk notifications for mortgage applicants.24National Conference of State Legislatures. Homeowners and Renters Insurance 2025 Legislation
New Protections Against Predatory Buying Tactics
Ohio Senate Bill 155, effective March 2, 2026, targets real estate wholesaling, where someone contracts to buy a home (often below market value) and then sells the contract to a third party for a profit. Wholesalers must now give you a signed disclosure before any contract is signed, stating that they do not represent you, that they intend to assign the contract for profit, and that they may be offering below fair market value. If they fail to disclose, you can cancel at any time before closing and get earnest money returned within 30 days. The Ohio Attorney General can enforce violations by unlicensed wholesalers under consumer protection law.25Ohio Department of Commerce. SB 155 Real Estate Wholesaling
Missouri’s SB 834, the Missouri Residential Sale Leaseback Protection Act, regulates deals where a homeowner sells and then leases the home back. Buyers must deliver specific disclosures three to ten days before the agreement is executed, with fines up to $10,000 per violation. The same bill raised the state homestead exemption from $15,000 to $40,000 starting January 1, 2027.26Missouri Senate. 2026 Tax and Transfer Fee Report
Zoning Changes That Let You Add Housing on Your Lot
Massachusetts’s Affordable Homes Act, signed in August 2024, included zoning provisions effective February 2, 2025 that require every community in the state to allow accessory dwelling units by right in single-family zones, without a special permit. ADUs are capped at 900 square feet or half the main dwelling’s floor area, whichever is smaller. Cities can restrict short-term rentals of ADUs but cannot “unreasonably restrict” their creation or long-term rental.27Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Affordable Homes Act: Smart Housing, Livable Communities The same law offers a tax credit of up to 10% of development cost for converting underused commercial buildings into housing and funds first-time homebuyer assistance through the MassDREAMS program.
California’s SB 79, effective January 1, 2026, requires cities and counties to adopt comprehensive long-term general plans that include mandatory housing elements for land development.28Office of Governor Gavin Newsom. New in 2026: California Laws Taking Effect in the New Year
Energy Codes: New Construction Only
Several jurisdictions tightened energy standards for new homes. California’s 2025 Building Energy Efficiency Standards took effect January 1, 2026.29California Energy Commission. Building Energy Efficiency Standards Colorado’s new Model Low Energy and Carbon Code takes effect July 1, 2026, requiring homes over 7,500 square feet to meet net-zero energy standards and making all new homes “demand response capable.”30Colorado Energy Office. Colorado’s New Model Low Energy and Carbon Code At the federal level, HUD and USDA adopted the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code as the minimum for new federally financed housing. For FHA-insured single-family programs, it applies to building permit applications submitted on or after May 28, 2026.31U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Minimum Energy Standards Notice None of these codes requires existing homeowners to retrofit, and manufactured housing is not covered.
Still Pending
The First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit Act of 2025, reintroduced in Congress in July 2025, would offer a refundable credit of up to $15,000 (10% of a home’s purchase price) for qualified first-time buyers using federally backed mortgages. The credit phases out above 150% of area median income and for homes priced above 110% of area median. It has not advanced to a vote.32U.S. Senate. Whitehouse, Heinrich Reintroduce Bill to Make Homeownership More Accessible
In New York, the Homeowner Protection Program (A1625A/S2627), which would fund free housing counseling and legal services for homeowners in foreclosure, passed both chambers by June 2026 and awaits the governor’s signature.33New York State Senate. S2627 Bill Text and Actions The federal American Housing and Economic Mobility Act of 2025 (H.R. 2038) was referred to a House subcommittee in March 2025 and has not moved since.34U.S. Congress. H.R.2038 American Housing and Economic Mobility Act of 2025