Washington — The House voted Tuesday to approve a sweeping housing affordability measure, delivering a rare bipartisan win as members of Congress face growing pressure to respond to rising housing costs ahead of the midterm elections.
Republican leaders in the House moved quickly to bring the bill to the floor after the Senate approved it Monday with broad support from both parties. The measure cleared the House in a 358 to 32 vote and will now go to President Trump for his signature.
The legislation, titled the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, was shaped through months of negotiations and is intended to expand housing supply while easing price pressures. Among its provisions, the bill restricts corporate investors from purchasing single-family homes, accelerates environmental reviews and seeks to cut through regulatory hurdles that can slow new construction.
The agreement came after extended talks among the lawmakers leading the effort. The negotiations were driven by Senate Banking Committee leaders Sens. Tim Scott, Republican of South Carolina, and Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, along with House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill, Republican of Arkansas, and ranking member Maxine Waters, Democrat of California.
“This final product advances practical, bipartisan and bicameral solutions to modernize federal housing programs, reduce regulatory burdens, streamline the development process and help build more homes to meet that growing demand and keep the American dream within reach,” Hill said Tuesday on the House floor. “This bicameral bipartisan bill before us today reflects the ideas from both chambers and demonstrates what can be accomplished when Congress focuses on solving problems for the American people.”
The White House had urged lawmakers earlier this month to pass the bill, highlighting its limits on corporate ownership of single-family properties. In a presidential proclamation, the administration described the package as “the most comprehensive and consequential housing legislation in the history of our country.”
Still, the extent to which that provision will improve affordability remains contested. Large institutional investors make up only 3% of single-family rentals and less than half a percent of the overall single-family housing stock, according to the think tank Urban Institute. Many economists also point to a broader shortage of homes as the main driver behind steep price increases in many parts of the country.
“A lot of people think that if we get rid of private equity, there will be all these houses available for sale for first-time homebuyers,” said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at the real estate firm Redfin. “But that’s not going to happen.”
Lawmakers acknowledged there’s still more work to do to address the housing crisis, but touted the legislation as a promising first step.
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“Today’s vote proves that it is possible to find bipartisan, common ground on legislation that actually helps the American people. And, importantly, it proves that bipartisan legislation doesn’t have to be the weakest, most milquetoast agreement that doesn’t offend anyone or do too much to help anyone either,” Warren said in a floor speech ahead of Monday’s vote.
Mary Cunningham
contributed to this report.
