The Federal Housing Administration announced in FHA Info 2025-10 that it was issuing a temporary partial regulatory waiver and related Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1 (Handbook 4000.1) waiver to its minimum property standards (MPS) requirements.
The big picture: Last fall, FHA published Mortgagee Letter 2024-20, which required all newly constructed dwellings located within the 1-percent-annual-chance (100-year) floodplain to be built at least two feet above the base flood elevation as determined by FEMA.
- HUD said at the time that elevating new construction dwellings in flood-prone areas would help reduce property damage, avoid relocation or temporary housing expenses or lost income due to flooding, and potentially, lower flood insurance premiums.
In justifying the temporary waiver, the Trump administration said, “Without this partial waiver, the new MPS required elevation standard will limit the land available for development and increase the cost of construction for FHA insured properties, thereby contributing to the insufficient supply of new construction housing and rising home prices.”
