At its recent meeting at the 2026 Spring Leadership Meeting in D.C., the NAHB Legal Action Committee reviewed requests for Legal Action Fund assistance and recommended a total of $175,000 in legal grants, which was approved by the NAHB Board of Directors.

The grants awarded this cycle support cases involving issues that directly affect housing production and affordability, including sweeping environmental and land use regulations, vested development rights, local growth-control measures, impact fees and other development-related charges, construction statute-of-repose protections, and exempt well access.

Legal Action Fund Grants

The New Jersey Builders Association (NJBA) appealed New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s (NJDEP) Jan. 20, 2026, adoption of the NJPACT REAL (Resilient Environments and Landscapes) rules, a sweeping update to flood hazard, stormwater, wetlands, and coastal regulations that incorporates forward-looking climate projections (including sea-level rise and increased precipitation) into present-day permitting standards.

NJBA argues NJDEP exceeded statutory authority and violated administrative procedure requirements, and that the rules are arbitrary and impose substantial cost and feasibility impacts on new housing and redevelopment, including affordable housing obligations.

Member applicant, Forestar Real Estate Group in South Carolina, challenged Greenville County’s reversal of previously granted subdivision approvals for the Owens Glen development, alleging the Planning Commission approved the preliminary plat in August 2024 but, after political intervention by County Council in November 2025, the Planning Commission reconsidered and denied the plat in December 2025.

The application asserts this late reversal unlawfully stripped vested rights after the window for appeal or modification closed and raises claims under South Carolina’s Vested Rights Act, procedural due process, and improper political interference with a quasi-judicial body.

Home Builders Association of Greater Knoxville (HBAGK) is litigating over Loudon County actions that HBAGK characterizes as unlawful growth controls that block or impede subdivision processing. The court denied the County’s motion to dismiss for lack of standing but granted a motion for a more definite statement, ordering HBAGK to file a third amended complaint identifying at least one specific member, project or parcel, application details, and the adverse action taken, along with facts supporting traceability and redressability.

Building Industry Association of the Greater Valley (BIAGV) is defending a trial-court win on appeal in a challenge to the methodology of impact fees imposed by the City of Patterson (Calif.). BIAGV prevailed at the trial level and the City has filed a notice of appeal, with the dispute framed around whether the City’s approach to calculating and justifying fees (including reliance on “existing inventory” assumptions) unlawfully inflates exactions and shifts excessive costs onto new housing.

Home Builders Association of Delaware (HBADE) is suing the City of Lewes over its building permit fee policy, which is described as being calculated as a percentage of “actual construction costs” and used in a manner that functions as an unlawful revenue measure rather than a cost-based regulatory fee. HBADE seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to stop enforcement and to restore lawful limits on municipal fee-setting that affects housing costs and development feasibility in Lewes.

Pennsylvania Builders Association requests additional support for a Pennsylvania Supreme Court appeal addressing the meaning of “lawfully performing or furnishing” under Pennsylvania’s construction statute of repose (42 Pa.C.S. § 5536) in a UTPCPL (Unfair Trade Practice & Consumer Protection Law) claim filed more than 12 years after completion of a custom home. The lower courts applied the statute of repose to bar the action, and the Supreme Court granted review on whether issuance of a certificate of occupancy is dispositive of “lawfully performed” construction and whether alleged building-code violations can defeat repose protection.

PBA frames the case as critical to maintaining predictable repose limits for builders and design professionals and preventing a broad erosion of repose protections through code-violation allegations.

Montana Building Industry Association intervened on behalf of its members, including builders, developers, remodelers, and home manufacturers, who rely on exempt wells as a practical water source for residential development in rural and suburban areas. Plaintiffs seek to invalidate the law that allows certain groundwater wells to be used without the ordinary water right permitting process, arguing that exempt wells harm senior water rights and bypass notice, review, and mitigation requirements.

If this challenge succeeds, the case could significantly affect housing development in Montana and may encourage similar challenges to domestic well exemptions in other western states.

Why It Matters

These cases involve legal and regulatory decisions that can increase the cost of housing, delay development, and create uncertainty for builders.

Through the Legal Action Fund, NAHB supports litigation that can help clarify statutory limits, challenge unlawful local actions, and protect a more predictable environment for housing production. This round of recommendations reflects that continued focus.

The next deadline for funding consideration at the 2026 Fall Leadership Meeting is Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. Visit nahb.org/legalfund for an application and the full guidelines.