The National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) has announced a new project to create a Housing System Certification Program, which could change how residential construction is regulated in the U.S.
Launched on December 13, 2025, in collaboration with MOD X, the goal is to develop a program ready for trials by the end of 2026. The initiative aims to make the approval process for housing more efficient and modern.
Currently, homes are approved one by one based on their specific location. The new certification program, however, treats homes as complete systems or products, much like cars or airplanes are regulated. This would allow projects using certified systems to be approved as well as inspected based on the system’s certification, making the process simpler.
The program aims to improve how housing systems are evaluated, making it easier to build affordable, resilient homes. It could also create opportunities for developers and municipalities to access grants and incentives through faster approval processes, helping to expand the use of offsite and industrialized construction.
Executive Statement
According to George Guszcza, President and CEO of NIBS, most housing is still permitted as one-off buildings under prescriptive, fragmented codes, even when delivered using offsite methods. Under the proposed system, projects built with certified housing systems would be permitted and inspected against the system certification rather than the full prescriptive code, significantly reducing permitting and inspection time and project-level design and engineering costs.
According to Ivan Rupnik, Founding Partner of MOD X, in practical terms, Housing System Certification aims to support reduced redundancy for repeat deployments, clearer verification and accountability, more predictable review and inspection workflows enabling more consistent outcomes across jurisdictions, and greater confidence for lenders, insurers, and owners through verifiable evidence and repeatable quality processes.
