A bipartisan housing package moving through Congress would limit parts of the institutional single-family rental market, expand construction incentives, support factory-built housing and update mortgage rules for lower-cost homes.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Congress is moving toward final passage of a broad housing affordability bill that would mark one of the most significant federal housing packages in decades, with lawmakers aiming to increase supply, expand financing options and address barriers facing middle-class families seeking to buy homes.
The 21st Century Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream to Housing Act of 2025, known as the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, has drawn bipartisan support as housing costs remain a major concern for families and younger Americans trying to enter the market. The legislation combines proposals affecting single-family rentals, affordable housing investment, zoning practices, manufactured housing, mortgage access and veterans’ housing programs, according to The Epoch Times.
One of the bill’s central provisions focuses on institutional investors in the single-family housing market. The Senate version would require major investors that build single-family rental homes to sell those properties within seven years. The House version also seeks to limit Wall Street’s presence in the single-family market, though its latest draft softened some restrictions and added broader exemptions.
Those exemptions apply to institutional buyers of newly built rental homes, homes requiring substantial renovation and several other categories. The revisions reflect changes made as lawmakers in both chambers adjusted the legislation while trying to preserve bipartisan support.
The package also includes several provisions intended to encourage new construction. Lawmakers added incentives for building more homes, converting abandoned buildings into housing and modernizing existing homes. The bill would also create a Housing Supply Framework designed to promote best practices for state and local zoning and land-use policies.
Federal support for affordable housing would be expanded through changes to the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, a block-grant program used by state and local governments to build, maintain and support affordable housing for low-income households. The legislation increases eligible income limits for the program.
Banks would also receive expanded authority to make public-welfare investments tied to affordable housing. The bill raises the public welfare investment cap for banks from 15% to 20%, a change supporters say could draw additional private capital into housing projects.
The legislation makes several changes to manufactured and modular housing policy. It removes the long-standing permanent chassis requirement for manufactured homes, which had required homes built under the federal construction code to be constructed on a permanent steel frame. It also includes the Modular Housing Production Act and related changes aimed at making factory-built housing easier to produce.
Lawmakers also addressed financing challenges for lower-cost properties. The bill would establish incentives for mortgage lenders to issue small-dollar mortgages, generally those below $100,000, in an effort to close the financing gap for lower-priced homes. It also updates appraisal rules and fees for those loans.
The package includes several changes to Veterans Affairs housing policy. Those reforms are intended to expand access to VA home loans, strengthen consumer protections for borrowers and increase housing support for disabled and homeless veterans.
The legislation has advanced quickly compared with many other major bills, a pace President Donald Trump had requested. House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill, R-Ark., introduced the measure in December 2025. It passed the House two months later by a vote of 390-9.
After the bill reached the Senate, senators substituted amended language rather than taking up the original House measure. The revised bill passed the Senate 89-10 and returned to the House, where it passed 396-13. It now heads back to the Senate for final approval.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., and ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said the legislation was developed with the White House and lawmakers in both chambers.
“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,” Scott and Warren said in a May 20 joint statement.
“There’s still work to be done 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,” they said.
Housing industry groups have largely praised the legislation, saying it addresses supply constraints and affordability concerns.
After the House passed the bill, the National Association of Home Builders said the package targets major obstacles in the housing market, including construction shortages and rising costs.
“The bottom line is that the housing crisis is a supply problem,” Bill Owens, the group’s chairman, said in a statement.
“Congress can help by improving access to capital, strengthening workforce pipelines, expanding the availability of buildable lots and reducing excessive regulatory costs and permitting delays.
“If we want to make housing more attainable, we must make it easier and less expensive to build.”
Emily Cadik, CEO of the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition, said the increase in the public welfare investment cap for banks would expand financing for affordable housing.
“Increasing the banks’ public welfare investment cap to 20 percent will unlock billions of dollars in new private investment,” Cadik said.
“Additional changes in the updated House legislation will further strengthen our ability to finance more affordable housing to address our nation’s immense need,” she said.
Bob Broeksmit, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association, said House passage of the Senate-amended version would help increase housing supply and improve access to affordable mortgage credit.
The legislation, Broeksmit said, “will help advance meaningful housing affordability solutions for our nation’s homeowners and renters.”
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