The U.S. Senate passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act on Monday by a vote of 85-5, moving Congress closer to enacting one of the most significant federal housing packages in decades.
The bill, which now heads back to the House for approval, is designed to lower housing costs by increasing supply, cutting regulatory barriers, expanding access to affordable housing, and limiting certain large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes.
The vote marked a rare bipartisan victory during President Donald Trump’s second term, with lawmakers from both parties rallying around housing affordability as one of the few issues still capable of cutting through Washington’s usual gridlock.
The bipartisan push has been led in the Senate by Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), along with House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (R-Ark.) and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-Calif.).
“Today’s bipartisan vote is an important step toward addressing America’s housing affordability crisis and giving families across this country a fair shot at the American Dream,” Warren and Scott said in a joint statement after the vote. “This bill reflects years of work and priorities from the White House, Senate, and House to build a housing affordability package that puts families first, increases supply, expands access to affordable housing, and addresses the housing crisis.”
The final Senate vote followed days of negotiations over the House-amended package. Severe thunderstorms reported in the Washington area contributed to several absences, but the bill still cleared the chamber by an overwhelming margin.
The legislation targets housing supply from several angles. According to the Senate Banking Committee, the package is built around four core goals:
- Cutting red tape
- Unlocking housing supply
- Lowering costs for families
- Avoiding new federal spending
It includes provisions to streamline environmental reviews, modernize manufactured housing rules, update multifamily financing tools, unlock private investment, and simplify construction activities across federal housing programs.
For mortgage and housing industry stakeholders, one of the most closely watched provisions is the bill’s restriction on institutional investors in the single-family housing market.
The final version would limit certain large institutional investors from crowding out families in residential markets. But it does not include a stricter Senate provision that would have required investors to sell newly constructed homes within seven years, a measure that had drawn concern from parts of the build-to-rent and real estate investment industries.
That change reflects one of the core compromises needed to keep the bill alive. Supporters of the investor restriction argue it gives families a fairer chance to compete for homes. Critics had warned that forcing sales of newly constructed rental homes could discourage new supply in markets already short on housing.
The legislation also includes a compromise on the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program. Earlier Senate language would have codified the program long term, while House lawmakers sought changes to how the program operates. The final version includes a three-year authorization.
The House previously passed its version of the bill by a wide bipartisan margin. But, because the Senate passed an amended package, the measure must return to the House before it can be sent to Trump’s desk.
On the Senate floor, Scott said that the bill responds to the pressure many younger households face as high prices and limited starter-home inventory delay homeownership.
“Rent is too high. Starter homes are too hard to find. And the American Dream slips further and further away for far too many,” Scott said.
Warren has described the package as the most significant housing bill in more than 30 years and said it would, for the first time, stop private equity from buying up single-family homes.
The bill’s broad support comes as housing affordability remains a central concern for both parties heading into the midterm election cycle. High mortgage rates, elevated home prices, limited affordable inventory, and rising ownership costs have kept many would-be buyers on the sidelines.
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) also backed the Senate’s latest amended version of the bill, pointing to provisions that would raise HUD’s multifamily loan limits for the first time since 2003, reduce development barriers, modernize federal housing programs, and expand access to affordable mortgage credit.
“The legislation preserves many of the hard-fought policy priorities that MBA has advocated for throughout this debate,” said MBA's President and CEO Bob Broeksmit, CMB. “We welcome the House leadership’s plans to consider the bill this week and urge swift passage so it can be sent to President Trump for signature as soon as possible. Enactment of these reforms would expand housing opportunities, lower costs, help more Americans achieve and sustain homeownership, and support a healthier, more affordable rental housing market for families across the country.”
The Bottom Line
For originators, the bill will not change affordability overnight. But if enacted, it could reshape the housing policy environment around several pressure points that directly affect borrowers: supply, manufactured housing, investor competition, local permitting, and access to affordable housing programs.
Congress is closer than it has been in years to passing a major housing bill — but the real test will be whether the final law can provide meaningful relief in today's markets where buyers are still priced out.
