The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a revised version of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, teeing up the massive housing reform bill for a potentially challenging vote in the Senate.

Lawmakers passed the bill on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis, voting 396-13 and securing White House endorsement of the legislative package House members approved. The amended bill removes restrictions advanced by the Trump administration that would have forced large build-to-rent (BTR) investors to sell their units after seven years.

Critics said the provision would have ultimately hurt housing supply and sapped much-needed liquidity from the broader home building sector.

“The Administration strongly supports passage of this bill and urges the Senate to take up and pass this legislation,” read a statement issued by the White House Office of Management and Budget dated May 20 and posted to the social media platform X by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

“We are grateful that a strong, bipartisan majority of the House voted to pass this legislation today, and we urge the Senate to swiftly do the same,” reiterated Johnson in a separate X post after the vote.

Revisions revealed last week by House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill, R-Ark., and the committee’s ranking Democratic member, Maxine Waters of California, still prohibit institutional investors from owning more than 350 homes. 

Mortgage and housing industry organizations that had reinstated their support for the bill after BTR restrictions were removed applauded the House vote in remarks shared with Scotsman Guide on Wednesday.

“The House revisions addressed many key concerns raised by MBA and other stakeholders, strengthening the legislation while preserving important measures in the Senate’s bill to boost housing supply and expand access to affordable mortgage credit,” said Bob Broeksmit, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association.

David Dworkin, president and CEO of the National Housing Conference, a coalition of affordable housing organizations, also urged the Senate to quickly pass the measure.

“While no single piece of legislation is perfect, this bill reflects meaningful cooperation across party lines,” said Dworkin, “and provides a strong foundation for expanding housing supply and improving affordability in communities nationwide.”

One widely supported piece of legislation excluded from the bill, for example, is the Reforming Disaster Recovery Act (RDRA), supported by nearly 550 national, state and local organizations to ensure federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds more effectively target disaster “survivors with the lowest incomes.”

“The House should pass the amended ‘21st Century Road to Housing Act’ and work with the Senate on a final supply bill that includes purposeful affordable housing priorities, such as the RDRA, to ensure people and communities with the lowest incomes directly benefit from the final bill,” said Renee Willis, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, in a statement issued Tuesday.

The bill now heading back to the Senate is a reconciled version of two separate but highly bipartisan housing bills developed in the upper and lower chambers over the past year. The combined bill had languished in the House as lawmakers juggled White House demands for investor restrictions with stiff opposition to those provisions.

Leaders on the Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs tempered expectations that a quick Senate approval may occur, however, issuing a joint statement on Wednesday hours before the House vote.

“We worked closely with the White House and our colleagues in both chambers on a bill that puts families first and addresses the housing crisis,” said Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and the Democratic ranking member of the committee, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

“There’s still work to be done,” the pair continued, “and we are committed to continuing to work with the White House and our colleagues in the House on a housing bill that can pass the Senate and get to the President’s desk.”

The Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA), which represents mostly small and midsize mortgage lenders, also commended the House for its vote while underscoring key initiatives the group supports.

“In particular, CHLA appreciates the inclusion of Section 301, which would eliminate the permanent chassis requirement for manufactured homes,” said the CHLA. “Another noteworthy focus of the bill is Sections 105, 401, and 402 — all designed to promote small-dollar mortgage loans, which are more difficult to originate.”