New 'Housing to Homes Act' Funds Furniture for Formerly Homeless, But Only For Five Years

The new Housing to Homes Act of 2025 is a targeted attempt to fix one of the less obvious but deeply frustrating hurdles faced by people moving out of homelessness: having nothing to sit on. This bill expands the federal Continuum of Care (CoC) program—the main source of funding for local homeless services—to allow those funds to cover the cost of household furnishings, including delivery and installation, provided by recognized furniture banks.

This isn’t about buying luxuries; it’s about acknowledging that moving into an empty apartment without a bed, a table, or even basic kitchen items makes maintaining stability incredibly difficult. The bill specifically defines a “furniture bank” as a registered nonprofit or social enterprise that provides these essential goods at little to no cost. Crucially, the funds can be used for people who are currently homeless, or who have been homeless in the last six months and are now in permanent housing, including permanent supportive housing. Once provided, the furnishings become the sole property of the individual or family, which is a key detail for dignity and ownership.

The Real-World Cost of an Empty Apartment

Imagine finally getting the keys to your own place after months or years without stable housing. That’s a huge win. But if that apartment is completely empty, it’s not really a home—it’s just four walls. This is what the bill calls “furniture poverty,” defined as the inability to access or afford the furniture essential for a functional, safe, and healthy home. The CoC funds are designed to help people stay housed, and this new provision recognizes that the lack of a bed or a functional kitchen can be a major stressor that increases the likelihood of a person reentering homelessness. For local service providers, this means they can now use existing federal dollars to pay for a move-in kit that actually makes the housing livable, saving them from having to rely solely on patchwork local donations.

Putting Data Behind the Problem

Beyond the funding change, the Act is serious about gathering data on this issue. It requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to submit two reports. First, within three years, HUD must report back to Congress on the impact of using these funds for furniture bank payments. Second, and perhaps more importantly, the bill requires HUD to publish an annual report on furniture poverty in the U.S. This report must track the number of Americans experiencing poverty, analyze how the lack of furniture affects the likelihood of formerly homeless individuals returning to the streets, and assess the impact of this new funding stream. This moves the conversation from anecdotal evidence to concrete data, which is essential for smart policy development.

The Five-Year Timer

There is one major caveat: the entire Act includes a sunset clause and will be repealed five years after it is enacted. This means that while local Continuum of Care programs get this new flexibility and funding option right now, they can’t treat it as a permanent feature. Service providers will have to plan for a potential cutoff of this funding stream in five years unless Congress actively reauthorizes the program. While this setup allows lawmakers to test the effectiveness of the program before committing long-term, it creates a layer of uncertainty for the furniture banks and social service agencies that rely on stable funding to scale their operations.