National Housing Act of 1934
The National Housing Act of 1934, H.R. 9620, Pub.L. 73–479, 48 Stat. 1246, enacted June 27, 1934, also called the Capehart Act and the Better Housing Program,[1] was part of the New Deal passed during the Great Depression in order to make housing and home mortgages more affordable.[2] It created the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)[3] and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC).[4]
Long title | AN ACT To encourage improvement in housing standards and conditions, to provide a system of mutual mortgage insurance, and for other purposes |
---|---|
Enacted by | the 73rd United States Congress |
Citations | |
Public law | Pub.L. 73–479 |
Statutes at Large | 48 Stat. 1246 |
Legislative history | |
|
The Act was designed to stop the tide of bank foreclosures on family homes during the Great Depression. Both the FHA and the FSLIC worked to create the backbone of the mortgage and home building industries, until the 1980s.[5] (See Savings and loan crisis and Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 that ended the FSLIC, whose activities were moved to the FDIC.)
The act improved housing standards for many Americans during the Great Depression.
The Housing Act of 1937 built on this legislation.
References
- Hyman, Louis (March 2009). "The Architecture of New Deal Capitalism". Reviews in American History. Johns Hopkins University Press. 37 (1): 93–100. doi:10.1353/rah.0.0073.
- Buescher, John. "Home Sales During the Depression." Teachinghistory.org, accessed 23 September 2011.
- "1934: Federal Housing Administration Created". www.bostonfairhousing.org.
- Dragonette, Laura (25 May 2016). "Federal Savings And Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC)".
- "HOUSING: AFTER 50 YEARS, THE HEYDEY IS OVER". The New York Times. 29 March 1981.