Historic Housing Package Becomes Law
Latest Update: Historic Housing Package Becomes Law (July 11)
The Big Picture
As of midnight, the landmark 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act has become law. After months of deliberation and compromise in Congress, the final housing package represents the largest federal action on housing policy in decades and focuses intently on boosting supply and easing affordability challenges nationwide.
The National Apartment Association (NAA) joined industry coalition partners in applauding the bill, saying “the most important housing legislation in a generation, this Act will modernize federal housing programs, reduce barriers to development and encourage the production and preservation of more housing nationwide. The revised bill will help communities expand housing supply, improve affordability and create more pathways to both rental housing and homeownership.”
Read NAA's deep dive overview of key provisions that impact rental housing.
Advocacy In Action
The final legislation reflects the steadfast advocacy of NAA members nationwide who played a pivotal role in shaping the bill over the past several months.
In March, more than 800 rental housing professionals gathered in Washington, D.C. to hold more than 300 meetings on Capitol Hill in one single day. Their efforts helped encourage lawmakers to eventually strike a proposed forced sale requirement for build-to-rent (BTR) housing, a provision that would have ultimately removed an important and flexible housing option for American families. Importantly, that provision was not included in the final law.
Focus on Supply, Affordability
The new law keeps a strong focus on housing supply, delivering a strong affordability win for Americans and providing a bulwark against the rise in rent control proposals driven by a lack of adequate supply to moderate rents. Key provisions include:
- Key inspections provisions from the Choice in Affordable Housing Act, which would reduce duplicative inspections by allowing one passed inspection to satisfy federal requirements across housing programs;
- The Housing Supply Frameworks Act, which requires HUD to publish best practices and guidelines to assist communities in modernizing local and state zoning frameworks that support the production of adequate housing options at every income level;
- The HOME Investment Partnerships Reauthorization and Reform Act, which would reauthorize and modernize the HOME program to improve administration and support more affordable housing construction;
- The Unlocking Housing Supply Through Streamlined and Modernized Reviews Act, which would streamline National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) review for small and infill housing projects; and
- The Build Now Act, legislation that creates a pilot program to incentivize housing development of all kinds in certain Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funded jurisdictions.
What’s Next
Stay tuned for an in-depth policy analysis of the bill’s core provisions. In the meantime, NAA looks forward to playing an active role as federal regulators begin the implementation process, particularly to ensure the long-term protection of build-to-rent (BTR) housing for Americans.
For more timely updates on the industry’s advocacy and legal news, register for our monthly Advocacy and Legal Webinar (ALW) series and tune in every third Wednesday of the month at 2 pm ET. This webinar is exclusively for NAA members and affiliate partners.
The Latest from Washington (June 30)
Bill Transmitted: On Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson formally transmitted the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act to the White House following its overwhelming passage out of the House (358-32) and Senate (85-5) early last week.
What’s Next: Given the process as outlined in the Constitution, the President has 10 days (excluding Sundays) to take action on the bill. If the President takes no action on the legislation, it will become law as early as July 9.