What’s in the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act?

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is a broad bipartisan housing package that has passed both chambers of Congress and been sent to President Trump for signature. Formally H.R. 6644, it merges the House’s Housing for the 21st Century Act with the Senate’s Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream (ROAD) to Housing Act of 2025 into a single bill that touches housing supply, mortgage financing, manufactured housing, rural and veteran housing, homelessness, and federal oversight. The Senate approved the final compromise 85-5 on June 22, 2026, and the House cleared it the following day.¹

How the Bill Aims to Build More Housing

The core ambition is to increase the housing stock by clearing federal regulatory barriers. Most Rural Housing Service projects on infill sites are exempted from the National Environmental Policy Act, and a range of housing activities — including tenant-based rental assistance, new construction, rehabilitation, and infill development — are reclassified as either NEPA-exempt or eligible for categorical exclusions, meaning little or no environmental review. State, local, and tribal governments gain authority to run streamlined environmental reviews for federally assisted housing.²³

On zoning, the approach is voluntary. HUD is directed to publish guidelines and best practices for states and localities to modernize their zoning frameworks, but the bill does not preempt local or state zoning decisions.⁴ HUD is also tasked with setting federal guidelines for point-access block buildings, single-staircase apartment buildings of three or more stories that are common in Europe and drawing new interest in U.S. cities.²

Other supply provisions include HUD grants for “pattern books” of pre-reviewed, code-compliant home designs that localities can adopt to speed permitting, a requirement that Community Development Block Grant recipients maintain public databases of undeveloped publicly owned land, and a new option to spend up to 20 percent of CDBG funds on affordable housing construction. A competitive $1 billion Innovation Fund offers grants for attainable or mixed-income housing serving households at or below 60 percent of area median income.²⁵

Limits on Large Investors Buying Single-Family Homes

One of the most debated pieces of the bill bars large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes. The restriction applies to any for-profit entity that owns or controls 350 or more single-family units. A “single-family home” includes detached houses and duplexes intended for occupancy by a single household, and “purchase” covers acquisitions through mergers, foreclosures, and bulk transactions.⁵

There are exceptions for build-to-rent construction, renovate-to-rent projects, and senior-occupancy housing. Violations carry civil penalties of up to $1 million per transaction or three times the purchase price, whichever is greater. The rules take effect 180 days after enactment and sunset automatically after 15 years. Homes acquired before enactment are not subject to forced divestiture, and the House removed an earlier Senate provision that would have required build-to-rent operators to divest after seven years.⁵⁶

Manufactured and Modular Housing Changes

Title III makes the biggest update to federal manufactured housing policy in years. The most consequential change eliminates the long-standing requirement that a manufactured home be built on a permanent steel chassis to qualify for HUD Code protections. Removing that requirement lets factory-built homes using alternative construction methods access federal preemption of local building codes, uniform construction standards, and streamlined approvals. The Trump administration described the chassis rule as “a principal barrier to scaling factory construction of single-family homes.”⁷ HUD becomes the primary authority on energy efficiency standards for manufactured homes and must create minimum standards.⁸

For modular homes assembled on-site, HUD is directed to review FHA construction financing and identify barriers for modular developers, including whether draw schedules can be adjusted to match off-site construction timelines. FHA loan limits for manufactured housing are increased, and accessory dwelling units become an eligible use for FHA property improvement loans. The PRICE (Preservation and Reinvestment for Community Enhancement) grant program, which funds repairs and improvements at manufactured home communities, is reauthorized for seven years.⁸

Mortgage Access and Homeownership Provisions

The bill sets up a HUD pilot for small-dollar mortgages, defined as loans with original principal balances of $100,000 or less. These loans are notoriously scarce because fixed origination costs make them unprofitable for lenders. The pilot sunsets four years after launch, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is required to study how loan originator compensation structures affect availability and whether qualified mortgage points-and-fees rules create unintended barriers.²

The HOME Investment Partnerships Program, the federal government’s largest affordable housing construction program, is reauthorized and reformed for the first time in more than three decades. Eligibility for homeownership assistance expands from households earning up to 80 percent of area median income to those earning up to 100 percent, community land trusts become eligible for funding, and jurisdictions gain flexibility to use HOME dollars for housing-related infrastructure.⁵ FHA multifamily construction loan limits are updated to current costs and indexed to inflation.²

A separate escrow savings pilot enrolls up to 5,000 families receiving Section 8 or public housing assistance on an opt-out basis. When a participant’s income rises and rent goes up accordingly, the difference is deposited into an interest-bearing account on the family’s behalf, effectively turning rent increases into forced savings. The authorization expires after ten years.²

Rural Housing Preservation

The bill incorporates the Rural Housing Service Reform Act to address what advocates call a looming preservation crisis. About 400,000 families live in properties financed under USDA’s Section 515 program, and many of those mortgages are approaching maturity. Under current law, rental assistance tied to those properties disappears when the mortgage matures, even though tenants still need it.⁹

The legislation decouples rental assistance from the underlying mortgage, letting USDA administer stand-alone, project-based rental assistance contracts that continue regardless of loan status. Owners can then use those long-term contracts to leverage Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity for repairs on aging buildings. Nonprofits get a streamlined path to acquire Section 515 properties, and a USDA pilot for mortgage lending in Native communities becomes permanent. Section 502 loan guarantees are expanded to cover accessory dwellings and in-home daycares, and the home repair loan program is updated to reduce burdens for smaller loans.⁹¹⁰

Veterans and Homelessness

Three provisions target veteran housing. The VA Home Loan Awareness Act requires the standard uniform residential loan application used by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to disclose VA home loan benefits so veterans see them before choosing other financing. The VALID Act requires FHA mortgage disclosures to include cost comparisons against VA benefits. The Housing Unhoused Disabled Veterans Act permanently excludes veterans’ disability compensation from income calculations under HUD-VASH, which provides housing vouchers and supportive services to homeless veterans, so disability benefits do not disqualify veterans from housing help.¹¹

On homelessness more broadly, Emergency Solutions Grant recipients can request a waiver of the statutory 60 percent spending cap on emergency shelter beds and street outreach, giving localities more flexibility. The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness must give annual Congressional testimony and status updates on its homelessness reduction plans.¹¹

Oversight, Pilots, and Other Provisions

New oversight requirements apply to HUD and to public housing agencies. The HUD Secretary must testify before Congress annually. Public housing agencies must publicly disclose all contracts they enter into. Housing counseling organizations receiving federal funds face periodic on-site performance reviews by HUD, with poorly performing counselors subject to additional training, suspension, or termination of federal assistance.²

A new Moving to Work expansion cohort of 25 public housing agencies is authorized. Agencies in this cohort are specifically barred from imposing work requirements, time limits, or significant rent increases. A Whole-Home Repairs Act pilot creates a five-year, $30 million program of home repair grants for low- and moderate-income homeowners and forgivable loans for small landlords. In an unrelated addition, the bill prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency through December 31, 2030, without Congressional authorization.⁵

Who Voted No and Why

The final Senate vote was 85-5. All five opponents were Republicans: Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Rick Scott of Florida, and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama. Senator Tuberville said the bill “writes a blank check to blue cities” and expands HUD rather than letting the free market reduce costs. Senator Paul called it the “Path Toward the Destruction of Property Rights Act,” arguing the institutional investor restrictions prevent homeowners from selling to the highest bidder and could shrink the rental supply. Senator Johnson said the investor restrictions could artificially lower home sale prices. Senator Lee objected that the bill increases federal involvement in housing without permanently banning a central bank digital currency or adequately addressing housing access for U.S. citizens versus undocumented immigrants. Senator Scott said the bill lacked accountability mechanisms and that government spending is the primary driver of high home prices.¹²

Housing advocacy groups have been mixed. The National Low Income Housing Coalition supports several provisions, including disaster recovery reforms, rural housing preservation, and Housing Choice Voucher inspection streamlining, but opposes the Moving to Work expansion. NLIHC argued it is too early to evaluate the most recent MTW cohort and that MTW policies can harm residents through work requirements, time limits, and rent payments exceeding 30 percent of adjusted income. NLIHC also called on Congress to ensure HUD monitors and enforces tenant protections in properties converted under the Rental Assistance Demonstration program.⁵

Where the Bill Stands Now

As of late June 2026, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act has cleared both chambers and is awaiting the President’s signature. The administration’s earlier Statement of Administration Policy expressed general support and a desire to keep working with Congress on the final version, without issuing a veto threat.⁷ Most provisions take effect on enactment, though a few, including the institutional investor restrictions, have delayed effective dates written into the text.⁵

1
U.S. House Financial Services Committee. 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Heads to President’s Desk
2
U.S. House Financial Services Committee. 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act – Section-by-Section Summary
3
U.S. Senate Banking Committee. 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act – Section-by-Section
4
U.S. Senate Banking Committee. The Facts – The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act
5
NLIHC. 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Explainer
6
Bipartisan Policy Center. What’s in the House Amendment to the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act
7
The American Presidency Project. Statement of Administration Policy – H.R. 6644
8
Bipartisan Policy Center. Inside the Deal – What’s in the Final 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act
9
Shelterforce. Proposed Change to Rural Housing Program Would Address Looming Preservation Crisis
10
U.S. Senate. Rounds, Smith Reintroduce Bipartisan Rural Housing Legislation
11
U.S. Senate Banking Committee. 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act – Section-by-Section
12
Time. Housing Bill Congress Senators Voted Against