Jun 16

Senate Advances Bicameral Compromise on 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act

Newly Released Legislation Represents a Breakthrough Bicameral Deal

The Senate and House have jointly released a new version of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act that, for the first time, has bicameral support. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC), Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (R-AR) and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) all released statements in support of the legislation, below.

The Senate just advanced the motion to proceed on the legislation by a vote of 87-8 and is aiming for a final vote on the bill this week, sending it to the House for a final vote next week. The AHTCC previously joined letters of support with national housing groups and affordable housing industry partners to express support for these improvements in the House-passed bill, and encourage final passage of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.

This new iteration of the legislation retains most of the recently House-passed version, including the AHTCC’s key priorities:

  • Lifts the public welfare investment (PWI) cap from 15 to 20 percent, potentially unlocking billions of dollars in additional investment in the Housing Credit. (See Sec. 203, Community Investment and Prosperity Act)
  • Bans institutional investors from buying single-family homes. (See Sec. 1001, Homes Are For People, Not Corporations)
    • This bill removes the earlier Senate-passed language which would have broadly limited the development of built-to-rent (BTR) properties and adversely impacted some Housing Credit properties.
    • During House floor debate on the legislation in May, House Financial Services Committee leadership also further confirmed in statements of congressional intent that the institutional investor ban is not intended to impact Housing Credit properties:
      • “Entities engaged in Federal or state affordability programs like the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program … are all valuable features of our current system that encourage, not reduce, the great availability and affordability of housing … we need to make sure that in the implementation of this section, that these beneficial features are not inadvertently caught up … when they have done nothing to the fundamental problem that we’re trying to solve today, which is this institutional investor challenge, leveling the playing field between individual buyers and large institutional investors,” said Chairman Hill.
      • “The bill was not intended to impact military housing, student housing, disability housing or LIHTC supported housing … given our congressional intent, Treasury should use its authority to address these concerns and to minimize market disruptions and mitigate negative impacts on consumer and communities,” said Ranking Member Waters.
    • Exempting BTR housing from the institutional investor ban was supported by a bipartisan group of 76 Representatives who signed onto a letter urging House leaders to revise language banning institutional investors from buying single-family homes.
    • In addition to working to build support for the congressional sign-on letter, the AHTCC has signed letters with industry partners calling for changes to the BTR provisions, and at the very least, an exemption for the Housing Credit.
  • Directs HUD to conduct an evaluation of Build America, Buy America (BABA). (See Sec. 501 – HOME Investment Partnerships Reauthorization and Reform Act)
    • Restores the House-passed language from the Housing for the 21st Century Act directing HUD to conduct an evaluation of BABA as it pertains to HOME funds and issue updated guidance as part of broader reforms to the HOME program.
    • The AHTCC supports efforts to streamline and simplify BABA requirements, which have adversely impacted affordable housing development.
      • See the industry proposal recommending changes to current BABA implementation in order to reduce uncertainty and administrative burdens and letter urging Congress to incorporate provisions from the HOME Reform Act (H.R.5798) into the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.
      • Note that there was also new legislation (Build Housing Affordably Act) introduced yesterday by Reps. Flood (R-NE) and Goodlander (D-NH) to streamline the BABA process for housing introduced yesterday, as well as language addressing BABA in the House Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bill.
  • Streamlines National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews for small and infill housing projects. (Sec. 206 – Unlocking Housing Supply Through Streamlined and Modernized Reviews Act)

The new version of the Senate bill also adds several provisions from the Senate’s prior version back in, including:

  • Lifts the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) cap with a new limit of 100,000 units.
  • Reinstates the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) provisions for three years.
  • Expands the Moving to Work (MTW) program.

This version of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is the fifth in a series of votes as the legislation volleyed between the Senate and the House. Passage of this legislation in both chambers has continued to receive overwhelming bipartisan support. If the Senate passes this amended bill, it will be sent to the House for their consideration next week, and then on to the President’s desk.

“2026 is the Year of Affordability, and the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act gives Congress a chance to deliver a major win for families across the country,” said Chairman Scott. “This bill is the result of years of work to lower costs, expand housing supply, cut red tape, protect taxpayers, and help more Americans achieve the dream of homeownership. For me, this is personal. I know what it means for a family to have a safe, affordable place to call home because I watched my mother work hard to make that dream a reality in North Charleston, South Carolina. Now it is time to move forward, get this bill across the finish line, and deliver real relief for the American people.”

“The historic 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act will address our nation’s housing crisis by boosting housing supply, bringing down costs, and for the first time ever stopping private equity from buying up homes,” said Ranking Member Warren. “This bill is a meaningful step toward increasing housing supply, improving affordability, and helping more Americans achieve homeownership. I look forward to President Trump signing it into law.”

“Bipartisan, bicameral legislating is never easy – but progress matters. I appreciate the Senate including a three-year sunset on the CDBG-DR program and adopting key House priorities including 9 community banking bills and the House’s language limiting institutional investors from outcompeting American families in the housing market,” said Chairman Hill. “This bill is a meaningful step toward increasing housing supply, improving affordability, and helping more Americans achieve homeownership. I look forward to President Trump signing it into law.”

“I’m pleased that after months of back and forth that we have reached an agreement on a comprehensive housing package that will finally get America back to building affordable housing. I commend Chairman Hill, Chairman Scott and Ranking Member Warren for working with me to get this bill across the finish line,” said Ranking Member Waters. “While no compromise is perfect, this legislation reflects meaningful progress and incorporates over 50 housing and banking provisions which Democrats fought to secure, but our work is far from done. This is an important step forward, not the final destination. I look forward to continuing my work to lower housing costs, address homelessness, expand affordable housing, and ensure every family has access to a safe and stable place to call home.”

The Impact of Lifting the PWI Cap

Lifting the PWI cap from 15 to 20 percent would expand private capital available for affordable housing by increasing banks’ capacity to invest in the Housing Credit. The AHTCC, Affordable Housing Investors Council and National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders recently surveyed 22 banks, representing more than $14 billion in 2024 Housing Credit investments. The survey found that over 42 percent of the represented investments ($6.1 billion) came from banks approaching the current 15 percent PWI cap. Expanding banks’ capacity to invest in the Housing Credit could help sustain demand for the additional credits made available through the program’s historic expansion in the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1) earlier this year. Read more in the AHTCC’s fact sheet outlining how the PWI cap increase would impact affordable housing production.