S. 5125 — Eleanor Smith Inclusive Home Design Act of 2026

This section defines terms for the Act. It establishes that a covered dwelling unit is a detached single-family house, townhouse, modular home, or ground-floor unit in a building of not more than three dwelling units that was designed or constructed with federal assistance and first made available for occupancy one year after enactment. It also defines federal assistance to include grants, loans, tax credits, mortgage guarantees, property transfers, and community development funds provided on or after that date.

This section prohibits any person or entity from designing, constructing, or commissioning a covered dwelling unit without ensuring that at least one level complies with the Standards for Type C (Visitable) Units in ANSI A117.1–2017 or any successor standard.

This section requires applicants for Federal assistance to submit assurances that programs and activities will comply with the Act. It conditions assistance from HUD, USDA, and VA on state or local agencies reviewing architectural and construction plans for covered dwelling units and withholding final approval until the units meet the Act’s requirements. It authorizes private civil actions within five years of a violation, with liability allocated between state or local agencies and builders depending on whether approved plans or actual construction caused the violation; permits the Attorney General to sue or intervene; and allows courts to award actual and punitive damages, injunctive relief including retrofitting, and attorney’s fees. The statute of limitations does not begin until any visitability deficiency is corrected, and relief does not affect prior bona fide sales or leases.

This section preserves any state or local law that grants the same or greater rights and protections than this Act while invalidating any state or local law that requires or permits actions violating this Act.

This section provides that if any provision of the Act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remaining provisions and their applications to other persons or circumstances remain in effect.