Olszewski Introduces Bill to Address Housing Loss Across U.S.

(Washington, DC) - Congressman Johnny Olszewski (D-MD) today introduced legislation to address the housing loss epidemic across the United States. The Federal Inquiry into the Nature and Documentation (FIND) of Housing Loss Act of 2025 will - for the first time - enable decision makers for to track housing loss through a national rate similar to unemployment.

Millions of Americans lose their homes each year to foreclosure, disaster and, most frequently, eviction as rents nationwide fail to keep pace with wages. Median rents are expected to rise nearly 5 percent this year alone, according to recent projections from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Housing loss often triggers a cascade of hardship, including homelessness, job loss, health decline, disrupted education, and long-term economic instability.

Yet the full scope of housing loss is not currently quantified - something Congressman Olszewski's bill aims to correct.

"You can't fix what you don't measure," Congressman Olszewski said. "If we are serious about ensuring housing stability and addressing the homelessness crisis, we have to begin by measuring the problem. Just as we track unemployment through a national rate, we need to quantify and understand housing loss. It is a critical first step toward real accountability, targeted action, and meaningful change."

The FIND Housing Loss Act requires HUD and the U.S. Census to conduct a comprehensive study on how federal agencies identify and track housing loss in the U.S., and to submit a report to Congress within six months of the law's enactment.

The bill is being cosponsored by Representatives Angie Craig (D-MN), Sarah Elfreth (D-MD), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Cleo Fields (D-LA), Sarah McBride (D-DE), LaMonica McIver (D-NJ), Kevin Mullin (D-CA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Brittany Petersen (D-CO), Shri Thanedar (D-MI), and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL).

"In every corner of Minnesota, I hear from folks struggling to afford a home," said Representative Angie Craig. "We've got to tackle the housing crisis head on and that starts with getting to the root of the problem. I'm proud to be introducing this common-sense bill alongside my colleagues that will force government agencies to take this crisis seriously and help us devise real solutions at the federal level to make housing more accessible for everyday Minnesotans."

The bill is endorsed by housing advocates as well as The National Association of REALTORS®.

"Accurate, comprehensive data on housing loss is essential to understanding the full scope of displacement in America and developing effective housing policy solutions," said Nicole Lindler, Director of Government Advocacy for the National Association of REALTORS®. "This legislation takes an important step toward improving federal data collection and coordination to better protect homeowners and renters across the country."

"Each year, an estimated 10 million Americans are forcibly displaced from their homes through eviction, foreclosure, post-disaster displacement, and other kinds of housing loss," said Yuliya Panfil, Director of the Future of Land and Housing Program at the New America think tank. "These forced displacements splinter communities, adversely impact physical and mental health, and limit access to education, child care and other necessities for family economic security and well-being. And yet, astonishingly, the federal government doesn't currently track how many people lose their homes each year, where, or for what reason. Without this data, we don't fully understand the housing challenges families face, and are unable to pass responsive policies, allocate sufficient resources, and calibrate housing supply initiatives to keep people stably housed. Federal action to begin tracking housing loss is a vital step in our fight to ensure that all families are securely housed."

"From floods to foreclosure, housing loss is a critical issue," said Amy O'Hara, President of the Association of Public Data Users. "While we have some bits and pieces of data, we lack the data infrastructure to answer even the most basic questions about how many households are affected, where they're located, and what risk factors are associated with housing loss. Being able to fill this data gap will directly benefit American communities."

"In a nation facing an unprecedented housing affordability and availability crisis, protecting our neighbors and communities from housing loss is more important than ever," said Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day. "The FIND Housing Loss Act is a much-needed apparatus for identifying root causes of housing loss to ensure that our solutions are informed, impactful, and effective."

"We are excited about the legislation being introduced by Congressman Olszewski," said Daniel Ellis, CEO of Neighborhood Housing Services of Baltimore. "As we look to increase the supply of housing around the country, it is critical that we track the status of existing homes. This tracking will help ensure effective investment of public and private funds to address the housing challenges in a strategic and thoughtful manner."

"Families lose their homes to foreclosures, evictions and disasters, but we have no central way to measure those losses to develop the best policies to prevent them," said Alys Cohen, senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. "This bill would establish a much needed and coordinated government effort to look at home loss as a whole and focus data collection and research in this area."

"Coming through the pandemic, we saw first-hand just how devastating housing instability can be for households and communities," said Frank Wells, President and Chief Impact Officer, Bright Community Trust. "At Bright Community Trust, we convened Florida's first evictions and foreclosures prevention task force in the summer of 2020 - and then struggled to get sufficient data to understand who was being impacted, in what neighborhoods, in what job sectors, and how we could best direct resources - emergency rental assistance, but also workforce education, job search, childcare and nutrition help - to help people through those challenging times. Since the pandemic, we continue to work on these issues, and struggle with the lack of sufficient detailed and timely data to best match scarce resources with the abundance of need. National housing loss data will be invaluable to us around Florida, and in communities all across the country, to give residents and leaders insights into the magnitude and direction of the need, to respond more quickly and effectively. Quicker interventions cost less and create less stress for the affected families - so good data makes financial and human sense too."