After numerous dead ends over the past year, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is fully paved and ready to beat a path to the Oval Office for the president’s signature.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass the bipartisan housing bill Tuesday evening by a 358 to 32 tally.
The previous day, the Senate gave its blessing by an 85-5 margin to the massive legislative package, which broadly seeks to improve affordability and increase housing supply in the U.S. while reducing regulatory barriers.
Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., who chairs the House Committee on Financial Services, said the legislation addresses a “housing supply shortage that has been years in the making.”
“The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act represents one of the most significant bipartisan housing reforms in recent memory, bringing together commonsense policies to expand housing opportunities and improve affordability for our families,” Hill declared on the House floor prior to the vote.
He also highlighted the bill’s focus on strengthening the roles of “Main Street community lenders” by modernizing banking regulations and allowing for more effective capital deployment.
“These reforms will help community banks focus on what they do best: providing loans to families seeking to purchase a home and financing the construction of new housing,” Hill stated.
Dennis Shea, executive vice president and chair of the Terwilliger Center for Housing Policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC), called the bill’s passage in both chambers a “milestone not just for housing policy, but for what’s possible when Congress works together.”
“For the families who’ve been priced out, squeezed out, or left behind by a broken housing market, this is a meaningful step — and it’s long overdue,” Shea said in a statement shared with Scotsman Guide.
BPC has comprehensively tracked the various iterations of the legislative package since last year, which was initially known as the Housing for the 21st Century Act in the House and the ROAD to Housing Act of 2025 in the Senate, with the acronym standing for “Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream.”
By BPC’s final tally, the bill includes provisions from more than 60 pieces of legislation that were introduced in the House, Senate or both chambers. Thirty-six of those bills were introduced by bipartisan sponsors, including many that were supported by BPC or its affiliated political action committee, BPC Action.
Perhaps most controversially, the bill restricts institutional investors from owning more than 350 single-family homes. But following objections from industry trade groups, the final version of the legislation carved out an exception for build-to-rent investors, notably removing a seven-year disposition requirement for BTR properties.
Other key provisions in the legislation include the establishment of a pilot program for small-dollar mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration; increasing housing in federally designated Opportunity Zones; the creation of a competitive housing grant program for local governments and tribes; and streamlining environmental review processes and other regulatory requirements under the Rural Housing Service Reform Act.
Bob Broeksmit, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association, applauded the bipartisan majority of lawmakers for “demonstrating a shared commitment to advancing practical solutions that address our nation’s housing challenges” in a statement provided to Scotsman Guide immediately after the House vote.
“By advancing commonsense reforms that encourage housing production and improve program efficiency, Congress has demonstrated that bipartisan cooperation can deliver real results for consumers, communities and the broader economy,” Broeksmit stated.
Chris Morton, CEO of the American Land Title Association, also praised Congress for passing the comprehensive bill.
“Homeownership is an essential part of the American dream,” Morton said. “The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act will unlock housing supply across the country and help more Americans achieve that dream.”
