The House of Representatives passed the amended 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act on May 19, 2026, by a vote of 396–13, sending the bipartisan housing package back to the Senate for a final vote before it can become law.
All 13 "no" votes came from Republicans. Speaker Mike Johnson moved the measure through a fast-track process that bypassed a procedural hurdle but required two-thirds support.
The bill is the product of more than a year of legislative negotiations between the chambers. The Senate first passed its version of the ROAD to Housing Act in October 2025. The House passed its own competing bill, the Housing for the 21st Century Act, in February 2026.
In March, the Senate approved an updated compromise that combined elements of both, but because the House amended that version further, the bill must now go back to the Senate for another vote.
What the bill actually does is aimed at increasing housing supply and lowering costs. The legislation would create incentives for new home construction, establish a program to convert abandoned buildings into housing developments, and authorize new grants to modernize existing homes. It would streamline federal processes that delay construction, update financing options for manufactured and rural housing, modernize federal homeownership programs, improve access to credit, and strengthen awareness of VA home loan benefits.
The House removed a controversial provision requiring large institutional investors in build-to-rent single-family homes to sell those properties within seven years. That forced-sale provision had drawn criticism from conservatives who argued it represented unnecessary government interference in the private housing market.
Representative Maxine Waters, ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, said on the floor that the revised package "preserves more than 90 percent of the Senate's bill, while strengthening it by adding numerous, critical House-passed, Democrat-led housing and community banking provisions."
Speaker Johnson told a GOP press conference the bill addresses the affordability crisis. "It's going to increase the supply, and it's going to make it easier for local banks to deploy capital in their own communities. All those things are going to help with the cost of living, help with affordability."
The path forward in the Senate is uncertain. Senator Elizabeth Warren warned that removing the institutional investor provision "kills the bill," arguing that changing a provision President Trump had specifically endorsed and that passed the Senate 89-10 was "nothing more than an attempt to kill the housing bill overall." The bill will need some Democratic support to overcome a filibuster.
President Trump signaled support for the House version. A statement of administration policy said the measure "would increase the availability of single-family homes and promote homeownership for working families" and urged the Senate to take up and pass the legislation.
The National Association of REALTORS sent a letter to congressional leadership urging swift passage. NAR Executive Vice President Shannon McGahn said the nation faces a shortage of nearly 5 million homes and first-time buyers are entering the market at a median age of 40. "Bold action to expand supply and remove barriers to homeownership has never been more urgent," she said.
Inclusive Abundance Action President Derek Kaufman called it "the most important federal housing legislation in a generation," noting that nearly 200 industry and advocacy groups signed a letter of support.
