U.S. Senate set to advance housing bill limiting private equity home purchases

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Senate advances housing bill

Highlights

Senate will vote Monday on the ROAD to Housing Act, a bipartisan bill capping private equity holdings at 350 single-family units without mandatory divestitures.
The final compromise eases regulations for new homebuilding, ties Community Development Block Grants to local housing expansions, and launches a pilot to redevelop vacant units.
Lawmakers cite a shortage of over 4.7 million homes in the U.S. and aim to improve affordability by restricting institutional investors and expanding supply.

Senate vote follows bipartisan compromise

As first reported by CNBC, the Senate is expected to vote Monday afternoon on the final version of the ROAD to Housing Act after lawmakers from both chambers reached an agreement last week on a compromise package.

The bill seeks to curb private equity's role in the single-family housing market while also encouraging new home construction. President Donald Trump has signaled support for the legislation, which arrives as Republicans and Democrats highlight affordability policies ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

The measure nearly stalled as Republicans debated provisions targeting institutional investors and House and Senate negotiators worked through competing approaches. Lawmakers ultimately settled between a House version seen as more favorable to Wall Street and a Senate version that imposed tougher limits on large investors.

An earlier proposal would have required investors owning 350 units or more to sell newly built units above that cap within seven years. The final bill keeps the 350-unit cap but removes that sell-by requirement after concerns that the rule could discourage new housing development.

Housing supply and market impact

The legislation also eases some regulations for new homebuilding, links Community Development Block Grant funding to local efforts to increase housing supply and creates a pilot grant program to support redevelopment of vacant units into housing.

In a statement last week, Neil Bradley, executive vice president, chief policy officer and head of strategic advocacy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the U.S. faces a shortage of more than 4.7 million homes and argued that expanding supply remains the most sustainable way to improve affordability, support labor mobility and strengthen local economies.

The package is led by Sens. Tim Scott and Elizabeth Warren, along with Reps. French Hill and Maxine Waters, the top lawmakers on the relevant Senate and House committees. Warren said the bill is significant because it would impose a direct federal restriction on private equity's ability to keep expanding its purchases in residential neighborhoods.

Our earlier article on Josh Hawley’s pro-worker labor push tracked how a small group of Republicans is backing measures such as the Faster Labor Contracts Act to speed up first union contracts and add tougher penalties for labor-law violations. We also noted how Hawley has tied the agenda to concerns about AI and workplace rights, while the broader GOP remains divided between worker-friendly rhetoric and longstanding alliances with big business ahead of key elections.

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