The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (H.R. 6644) is on the cusp of becoming law after the U.S. House of Representatives on June 23 approved the first major piece of housing legislation in nearly 40 years with a resounding 358 to 32 vote. 

The Senate approved the bipartisan and bicameral bill with an 85 to 5 vote on June 22.

“The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act will help expand the nation’s housing supply by reducing regulatory barriers and encouraging local governments to reform zoning and land-use policies that have limited home building," said NAHB Chairman Bill Owens in a blog post soon after the bill's passage.

President Trump cancelled a scheduled signing ceremony on June 24 in order to pressure Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, a sweeping elections reform bill.

The next day, House Speaker Mike Johnson sent the housing bill to the White House for the President's signature, starting the clock on a 10-day window for him to either sign or veto the measure before it becomes law automatically.

5 Key Provisions

The ROAD to Housing Act features five key provisions to spur housing supply and help ease the affordability crisis, including:

1. Targeting restrictive zoning and land-use policies that have limited residential construction and rewarding communities that adopt policies that expand supply and support housing growth;
2. Authorizing a pilot program to provide grants and forgivable loans for home repairs and health-hazard mitigation in aging housing;
3. Raising FHA-insured multifamily loan limits and indexing them to inflation to better align financing with construction costs;
4. Streamlining the National Environmental Policy Act review process for small and infill housing projects;
5. Strengthening community banks to expand access to housing credit.

Protecting Built-to-Rent

Earlier versions of the bill included a provision that would have required institutional investors to sell build-for-rent (BTR) single-family homes within seven years, which NAHB and others successfully opposed on the basis that it would reduce investment in much-needed built-to-rent housing.

RELATED CONTENT:

• What’s Next for the ROAD to Housing Act?
• What’s in the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act? (Bipartisan Policy Center)
• NAHB Endorses Comprehensive Immigration Reform Legislation

In addition to the blog post, you can watch this video from NAHB's Federal Legislative Director Evan Loukadakis, who led the association's advocacy team to help refine the bill and bring both houses of Congress together to pass it.