U.S. lawmakers update housing bill as Senate weighs affordability package

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Housing bill update in Senate

Highlights

Senator Warren, Senator Scott, Representative Hill, and Representative Waters released updated text and a summary for the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act as the Senate considers the bill.
The bill includes a three-year sunset for the CDBG-DR program, adopts nine community banking bills, and adds measures to limit institutional homebuyers.
The bipartisan package, containing over 50 housing and banking provisions, aims to boost housing supply, lower costs, and prevent private equity from buying homes.

Updated bill text and policy scope

As reported by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Senator Tim Scott, U.S. Representative French Hill and U.S. Representative Maxine Waters released updated bill text and a section-by-section summary for the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act as the Senate considers the legislation.

The package reflects years of bipartisan, bicameral negotiations between the Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services Committee. Lawmakers say it is designed to address the root causes of rising housing costs by cutting red tape, unlocking housing supply, lowering costs for families, protecting taxpayers and preserving local control.

Warren says the bill would boost housing supply, reduce costs and, for the first time, stop private equity from buying up homes. Scott describes 2026 as the "Year of Affordability" and says the measure is intended to help more Americans achieve homeownership while delivering relief to families nationwide.

Housing market and legislative implications

Hill says the Senate version includes a three-year sunset on the CDBG-DR program and adopts key House priorities, including nine community banking bills and provisions aimed at limiting institutional investors from outcompeting families in the housing market. He adds that the legislation is a meaningful step toward improving affordability and increasing housing supply.

Waters says the agreement follows months of negotiations and includes more than 50 housing and banking provisions backed by Democrats. She characterizes the measure as progress rather than a final outcome, with further work still needed on lowering housing costs, addressing homelessness and expanding affordable housing access across the U.S.

In our earlier coverage of lawmakers’ push to cap large investor purchases in the single-family housing market, we outlined a proposal that would limit major investors to buying no more than 350 homes as Congress advances a broader affordability package. We noted that the latest version dropped a requirement for investors to sell newly built homes within seven years, instead focusing on an ownership cap intended to ease competition for families and support housing supply.

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