The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Passed the House. What’s Next?
The revised bill addresses a major provision the Senate proposed in March.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed its revised version of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act in a 396-13 vote on Wednesday, sending the legislation back to the Senate for further consideration. The White House has urged the Senate to approve the package.
Originally passed by the House in December 2025, the legislation aims to streamline housing development and add more housing stock by reducing barriers to construction. When the Senate approved its revised version of the bill this past March, the industry had concerns over a provision that targeted institutional ownership of single-family rentals.
Following the House’s latest revisions, industry organizations including CRE Finance Council, the National Housing Conference and the National Apartment Association expressed support for the updated package.
What revisions did the House make?
One of the biggest criticisms of the bill following the Senate’s passage centered on provisions requiring institutional investors involved in build-to-rent housing to sell properties after seven years of ownership.
In the revised House version passed Wednesday, lawmakers removed the seven-year sell mandate. However, the bill still limits institutional owners with more than 350 single-family rental homes from acquiring additional properties under certain circumstances.
The revised language also includes carve-outs intended to protect housing production, allowing investors to continue developing and operating build-to-rent communities without the previously proposed restrictions.
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Even as restrictions surrounding institutional investors remain in the package, there are additional provisions intended to support and streamline new housing development. To unlock additional capital for new projects, the House increased federally-backed multifamily loan limits.
The House also added a community-banking title that the Senate previously removed. According to Mark Kudlowitz, senior director of policy at Local Initiatives Support Corp., the provision would expand banks’ authority to make public welfare investments frequently used to support Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, one of the federal government’s primary tools for preserving and producing affordable rental housing.
“I think that the simplification and modernization of the regulations in Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers and the HOME program are likely to be two of the most impactful changes,” David Dworkin, president & CEO of National Housing Conference told Multi-Housing News. “The increasing the multifamily loan limits, that’s valuable… that’s a leveraging tool.”
The House also removed several HUD-related provisions included in the Senate package. Among them was permanent authorization for HUD’s Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery program, which helps rebuild communities affected by natural disasters. The revised version also removed provisions tied to HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration program, which is used to preserve and modernize affordable housing properties.
Despite supporting the package overall, Kudlowitz said additional housing legislation and funding will still be needed to fully address the housing crisis.
“The housing legislation is an important step—not a complete solution,” Kudlowitz said.
How is the industry reacting?
Many industry organizations have expressed support for the revised package, as it better supports investment and construction. The National Apartment Association pointed to Section 208, the Unlocking Housing Supply Through Streamlined and Modernized Reviews Act, as one of the bill’s key development-focused provisions. The measure streamlines NEPA reviews for certain infill housing projects to accelerate construction timelines and increase housing supply.
NAA also shared a coalition statement signed by 11 national organizations supporting the House’s revisions including the Mortgage Bankers Association, Leading Builders of America, National Association of Home Builders and The Real Estate Round Table.
CREFC also expressed support for the revisions and described it as a step in the right direction toward increasing housing supply, the organization shared in a prepared statement. While the revised package has gained broader industry support, experts still anticipate additional negotiations as the bill heads back to the Senate for further consideration.
The National Housing Conference said in its own statement that the package could be strengthened if the Senate reintroduces provisions including CDBG-DR and the PRICE Act.
“One option is clearly to just take up the House bill,” Dworkin said. “Another option is that the members go to conference committee. I’m optimistic that we’re going to get a bill this year, and it’s going to be sooner than most people anticipate.”
