Congress reaches bipartisan agreement on ROAD to Housing Act

Leaders in the House of Representatives and the Senate announced Tuesday that they have reached an agreement on the final version of the first comprehensive housing bill in a generation.

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which has garnered support from virtually all major housing trade groups, is set for consideration in the Senate this week. If passed, the legislation is expected to receive presidential approval next week.

The bill includes a number of provisions aimed at increasing housing supply and reducing costs. The final text is the culmination of years of bipartisan and bicameral negotiations, incorporating priorities from the Senate, House and White House into a single package.

“Senate action on this bill is a tribute to both parties’ ongoing commitment to bipartisanship in adopting housing policies,” said Scott Olson, executive director of the Community Home Lenders of America. “CHLA hopes this is a springboard to Congress adopting bold tax policies and a national focus on entry-level housing, as part of a Moonshot Commitment CHLA called for last month to address Gen Z homeownership challenges.”

“The BAC is thrilled to see the updated bill text for the ROAD to Housing Act,” said Brendan McKay, co-founder and chief advocacy officer for the Broker Action Coalition. “We are encouraged not only by the legislation itself but also the willingness of policymakers from both parties to work together on an issue that impacts every American family. We’ve said it for years, and this bill proves it: Housing is bipartisan.”

While the legislation leans more heavily toward affordable rental housing than homeownership, it introduces sections relevant for the mortgage industry.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is authorized to review the performance of housing counseling agencies and establishes a pilot program designed to expand access to small-dollar mortgages with original principal balances of $100,000 or less. Meanwhile, the measure requires the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to increase multifamily loan limits, a move intended to better align with current market costs and boost affordable housing development.

A provision requires the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to issue a report to Congress studying the effect of various aspects of loan originator compensation (LO comp) on the availability of small-dollar mortgages. Another section aims to bolster appraiser workforce capacity by allowing both licensed and credentialed appraisers to conduct appraisals for FHA-insured mortgage transactions.

Additionally, the final version limits institutional investors‘ acquisitions of single-family properties — a mandate pushed by the White House. But the bill does not require institutional owners to sell built-to-rent properties within seven years, as initially proposed.

Shannon McGahn, executive vice president and chief advocacy officer of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), noted that the cost of building a new home has increased dramatically, with regulatory costs alone adding more than $131,000 to the price tag of the typical home.

“This legislation helps reduce barriers to building, modernize housing programs, and creates more opportunities for homeownership,” McGahn said in a statement.

The legislation also authorizes a Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program for three years and establishes the Office of Disaster Management and Resiliency within HUD to administer the program. The House had originally pushed for a seven-year authorization.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is urging the Senate to pass the bill, noting that recent House revisions addressed key concerns raised by the MBA and other stakeholders. Specifically, the MBA had warned that earlier restrictions on institutional investment in single-family housing would limit financing for built-to-rent communities, and that FHA multifamily provisions would constrain capital for new rental development.