MoHUA National Conference on Affordable Housing Reforms
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) organized the National Conference on Affordable Housing Reforms titled "Reimagining Affordable Housing: From Scheme to Sustainable Ecosystem" on 11th August 2026 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The conference brought together senior policymakers, experts, and representatives from States/UTs and financial institutions to deliberate on reforms and innovative approaches for strengthening the affordable housing ecosystem.
Shri Rajiv Gauba, Member of NITI Aayog, emphasized that land supply and urban planning reforms are critical for expanding affordable housing in cities. He identified land as the "most binding constraint" and suggested specific measures including waiving land-use change fees for affordable housing land and exempting affordable housing units from stamp duty to improve project viability. He also highlighted the growing importance of rental housing for migrant workers, young professionals, students, and industrial workers, along with reforms in the tenancy framework.
The conference discussed the NITI Aayog and MoHUA report "A Comprehensive Framework to Promote Affordable Housing," which proposes expanding planned urban areas and reserving at least 10% of residential land as affordable housing zones in master plans. The report recommends raising permissible Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for affordable housing projects to 5 or 6, promoting transit-oriented development, land pooling, transferable development rights, easing parking and density norms, and creating land banks.
Shri Satendra Singh, Secretary of Department of Urban Development, highlighted how the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Urban (PMAY-U) has fundamentally reshaped the urban housing landscape over the past decade. Building on these learnings, PMAY-U 2.0 seeks to support 1 crore additional eligible urban families through a demand-driven approach with emphasis on diverse housing solutions, technology-enabled implementation, access to finance, and stronger institutional partnerships.
Technical Session Focus Areas
Three technical sessions covered critical dimensions: Land and Urban Planning Reforms examined state-level experiences from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Delhi, including Town Planning models, Affordable Housing Zones, and the Delhi Transit-Oriented Development Policy 2026. The Rental Housing and Vacancy Unlock session deliberated on regulatory reforms and rental housing exchange with experiences from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Telangana, and Assam. The Access to Capital session focused on strengthening finance for projects and homebuyers, with presentations from National Housing Bank (NHB), HUDCO, Department of Financial Services (DFS), Indian Banks' Association (IBA), and National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC) on home loan products for the informal sector and credit guarantee scheme performance.
The conference provided a platform for states to showcase best practices and share implementation experiences, fostering peer learning and cooperative federalism. The deliberations will help prepare a roadmap for housing sector reforms and establish a framework for sustained engagement, monitoring of reform measures, and exchange of experiences among states.