The U.S. House passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act on Tuesday in a 358-32 vote, sending the bipartisan housing package to President Donald Trump’s desk. Trump is expected to sign it at the Capitol on Wednesday, June 24.
The bill has had overwhelming bipartisan support since its initial phases, with lawmakers from both parties wanting a win on housing costs heading into the 2026 midterms.
Here’s a look at the bill.
What is the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act?
It’s a combined federal housing bill with two major initiatives:
- It limits how many homes big investors can own. Large institutional investors that already own more than 350 single-family homes will be blocked from buying more single-family houses. The section is titled “Homes Are For People, Not Corporations.”
- It makes it easier to build. The bill cuts some federal regulations, adds grant funding and pilot programs for new construction, and lets local governments speed up the approval process. The goal is more homes and lower costs for buyers.
The bill spans a dozen sections covering housing supply, manufactured housing, veterans’ housing, rural housing, and more.
David Dworkin, President and CEO of the National Housing Conference, said in a statement that while “no bill is perfect,” this is a step in the right direction for affordable housing.
“The House’s passage of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act marks a major milestone in the effort to address America’s housing challenges. With both the House and Senate now having approved the legislation, the bill is on its way to the President’s desk. This achievement reflects years of work by housing advocates, industry leaders, community organizations, and policymakers from both parties who recognized the urgent need for action.
“(This bill) will help communities across the country build more housing, improve access to affordable homes, and strengthen the federal tools needed to address the nation’s housing affordability crisis.”
What’s in the institutional investor cap?
The bill blocks large investors that own 350 or more single-family homes from buying additional single-family properties. Investors can keep the homes they already own, and there are exemption pathways: they can still build single-family rentals (build-to-rent) or buy and fix up homes to rent (renovate-to-rent), and hold those indefinitely.
That’s a notable change from where this started. BAM covered the earlier Senate version in March, when the Senate first advanced the package in a 90-8 vote. That version would have forced investors to sell homes bought through the exemptions within seven years. After pushback from homebuilders, the House dropped the seven-year selloff rule.
The uncertainty alone already moved the market. A ResiClub survey of 14 institutional operators, conducted between April 28 and May 26, 2026, found these firms had already delayed or walked away from more than 6,000 single-family deals because they didn’t know what the rules would be. With the 350-home cap now headed to Trump’s desk, those rules are about to be set, which could free up some of that paused activity.
What happens next?
Trump is set to sign the bill into law Wednesday at the Capitol, ahead of a planned meeting with Senate Republicans. Once signed, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act becomes one of the most significant federal housing measures to pass in years.
