The Housing for the 21st Century Act, a comprehensive piece of legislation that seeks to increase housing supply and affordability, was overwhelmingly approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday by a vote of 390 to 9.
In a statement delivered on the House floor prior to the vote, House Financial Services Committee ranking member Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said the bill “represents a historical bipartisan agreement” that “makes many long overdue improvements to housing programs, expands local development opportunities and broadens access to homeownership.”
The legislation had received broad approval from a wide swath of mortgage and housing groups. According to a press release from the Financial Services Committee, over 70 groups endorsed the package.
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), for one, sent a letter of support to House leaders last week. The association’s letter noted that it strongly supported measures in the bill such as improving access to small-dollar mortgages from the Federal Housing Administration; increasing the FHA’s multifamily loan limits; improving elements of the Rural Housing Service program; and increasing housing policy coordination among government departments.
In a statement provided to Scotsman Guide immediately after the full House vote, MBA President and CEO Bob Broeksmit praised the bipartisan coalition of lawmakers who saw the bill to the finish line.
“Housing affordability is a top concern for homeowners, renters and communities across the country,” Broeksmit stated. “Today’s overwhelming bipartisan vote signals meaningful legislative momentum to expand supply, improve affordability and modernize housing policy.”
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in both chambers of Congress will now be faced with hashing out a compromise with the Senate’s pending housing reform bill, dubbed the Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream (ROAD) to Housing Act.
The bipartisan Senate bill had received unanimous 24-0 passage through the Senate Banking Committee in July, but it was delivered a setback in December when it was cut from the final version of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act.
But it appears there may be common ground to negotiate. According to an analysis by the Bipartisan Policy Center, of the 38 sections in the Housing for the 21st Century Act, 17 align at least in part with provisions in the ROAD to Housing Act.
The House considered the measure under a mechanism called “suspension of the rules,” which allowed for expedited consideration with a higher bar for passage, requiring a two-thirds majority vote rather than a simple majority.
Notably absent from the legislation was any mention of President Donald Trump’s proposed ban on institutional investor purchases of single-family homes.
According to reporting by The Wall Street Journal, Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, had resisted including the measure in the broader Housing for the 21st Century Act, as it may have made the legislation harder to pass and the White House has yet to define the terms “large institutional investor” and “single-family home.”
