Following strong support in Congress this week, a landmark housing affordability bill is now awaiting President Donald Trump’s approval, marking a potential milestone in federal housing policy and one of the most far-reaching housing packages in a generation.
The legislation is designed to address the housing affordability crisis in the United States by boosting housing supply, including expanding access to manufactured homes, while also encouraging local authorities to ease zoning and permit regulations. It also introduces a first-of-its-kind restriction on private equity by preventing large-scale investors from purchasing single-family homes.
The legislation, which received support from both major parties, reflects increasing concern in Congress that rising living costs are placing financial pressure on Americans and making homeownership — long viewed as a key part of the American dream — harder to achieve.
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives voted to approve the legislation, known as the “21st Century Road to Housing Act,” a day after it cleared the Senate. President Donald Trump has indicated that he intends to sign the bill into law.
“The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act passing both chambers is a milestone not just for housing policy, but for what’s possible when Congress works together,” said Dennis Shea, executive vice president for the Centre for Housing Policy at the Bipartisan Policy Centre. “For the families who’ve been priced out, squeezed out, or left behind by a broken housing market, this is a meaningful step — and it’s long overdue.”
Since the 2008 financial crisis, the pace of home construction has failed to keep up with demand, contributing to a housing shortage that has driven up property prices across many parts of the United States.
The legislation, championed in the Senate by Tim Scott and Elizabeth Warren, and in the House by French Hill and Maxine Waters, was designed to directly address the country’s housing shortage.
“Young people today … they’re delaying marriage, they’re delaying having kids, they’re delaying putting down roots,” Scott said on the Senate floor Monday ahead of the bill’s passage. “Not because they lack ambition but because housing prices are too darn high and housing supply too low.”
The bill, which includes 47 provisions focused on increasing housing supply, emerged after months of negotiations between the House and Senate, following earlier versions that were separately approved by both chambers earlier this year.
For instance, the bill was expanded to include a provision preventing large institutional investors that already own at least 350 single-family homes from acquiring more properties. The addition followed an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in January aimed at limiting competition between Wall Street investors and everyday homebuyers.
The legislation is considered a significant boost for manufactured housing, as these homes are factory-built and generally cost less and take less time to complete compared with conventional homes constructed on-site.
