Housing Champions
Housing Champions is a voluntary incentive program that creates a “Housing Champion” designation, recognizing municipalities taking meaningful steps to support housing production and smart community development. Municipalities that earn the designation receive preferential access to certain discretionary state funding, as available.
Enacted by the Rhode Island General Assembly in 2025 through H5229/S495, Housing Champions celebrates local leadership and supports the actions that create more homes, strengthen communities, and improve quality of life for Rhode Islanders.
More information about how to apply will be made available in the coming weeks. To sign up for updates, click here.
Actions that Earn Points
Municipalities that apply are evaluated through a scoring system based on actions such as:
- Adopting housing-supportive zoning and land use policies consistent with Housing 2030,
- Training planning and zoning board members,
- Investing in infrastructure that supports housing development, such as sewer, water, and/or electric,
- Improving sidewalks, bike lanes, and other infrastructure that supports walkable, transit-oriented neighborhoods,
- Adoption of pro-housing comprehensive plans,
- Bonus: Implementing local financial incentives that encourage housing development and revitalization.
How it Works
The "Housing Champion" designation is valid for three years, with opportunities for renewal based on continued performance.
Participating municipalities are required to report housing-related metrics annually, and the Executive Office of Housing is required to publish an annual report evaluating the program's impact, including the number of additional housing units produced as a result of the initiative.