Housing Bill Sails Through House of Representatives

Congress is a step closer to sending a housing affordability bill to the president’s desk, one that will provide the build-to-rent industry some comfort.

On Wednesday, the amended 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act easily passed the House of Representatives, Politico reported. Only 13 lawmakers — all Republicans — voted against the bill, which will be delivered to the Senate next.

Critically, the legislation carried the support of the White House. While the Trump administration previously advocated for the original bill to come out of the Senate, it gave the stamp of approval to the House-amended bill on Wednesday.

It’s unclear if the Senate will be on board. In a joint statement on Wednesday, Sen. Tim Scott and Sen. Elizabeth Warren said there was “still work to be done” on a final bill. That being said, Warren was directly involved in crafting the House-amended bill, likely a positive sign for how the legislation will stand up in the Senate.

While institutional investors will still be limited in their purchasing power for single-family homes, the House-amended bill still removed a critical provision that had the build-to-rent sector up in arms.

The House eliminated the controversial provision requiring build-to-rent investors to sell rental homes within seven years, a mandate that has frozen activity and scared away investment in the sector. The definition of a single-family home was also narrowed to exclude manufactured housing and homes renovated to be sold.

The amended bill drew the support of the National Association of Home Builders, which said in a statement last week that it “is the time for Congress and the president to work together to bring greater certainty to the housing market and let builders build.”

The National Association of Realtors also voiced support for the amended bill after its passage in the House.

“This bill reflects the growing bipartisan consensus that the nation needs bold action to expand housing inventory, improve affordability, and create more pathways to homeownership and rental opportunity,” Shannon McGahn, NAR executive vice president and chief advocacy officer, said in a statement.

There’s no public timeline on when the Senate could take up the revamped bill and how long it would take to get to Donald Trump’s desk, should it be passed in that chamber.

— Holden Walter-Warner