Bipartisan Housing Bill Becomes Law Without Trump's Signature

WASHINGTON, A major federal housing bill became law last week without President Trump's signature, capping more than a year of negotiations between the House and Senate over how to address a nationwide shortage of affordable homes.

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, H.R. 6644, took effect July 11, 2026, after the 10-day constitutional window for a presidential veto expired with no action from the White House, according to records reviewed by GovTrack.us.

The final vote margins were lopsided on both sides of the Capitol. According to a bill summary published by the Bipartisan Policy Center, the Senate passed the measure 85-5 on June 22, and the House cleared it 358-32 the following day.

The legislation bundles more than 40 provisions targeting housing supply, financing, homelessness, veterans' housing, and disaster recovery, according to a bill explainer published by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Among its core elements, the law streamlines environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act for housing projects, expands categorical exclusions for such projects, and authorizes HUD to delegate reviews to states and localities, targeting regulatory delays that have historically driven up construction costs, according to a summary posted on Wikipedia's article on the act, which drew from congressional documents.

The law also increases Federal Housing Administration loan limits for multifamily homes and expands the eligible income threshold for HUD's HOME Investment Partnerships Program, which provides grants to states and localities for low-income housing, according to a Congressional Research Service summary published by Congress.gov.

One of the bill's more contested provisions, described in the National Low Income Housing Coalition explainer, prohibits large institutional investors, defined as those owning 350 or more single-family or one-to-two-unit homes, from purchasing additional single-family homes unless they meet specific requirements. A tax policy review published by Cherry Bekaert, an accounting and advisory firm, described that restriction as "a notable federal restriction on investment activity within a specific asset class."

The administration had pushed for investor restrictions during negotiations. According to the Wikipedia article on the act, citing The Wall Street Journal, the Trump administration sought language banning investors from owning single-family homes outright, a position lawmakers ultimately softened in the final text.

The law also contains a provision barring the Federal Reserve from creating or issuing a central bank digital currency, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition explainer. That provision drew objections from some House Republicans during negotiations, according to the Wikipedia summary.

The bill's path to enactment was long and tangled. The Senate Banking Committee advanced an earlier version in a 24-0 vote in July 2025, and the Senate passed it unanimously in October of that year, according to the Wikipedia article on the act. The House passed a parallel but distinct bill, the Housing for the 21st Century Act, by a 390-9 vote in February 2026. Months of conference negotiations produced the merged final text.

The House Financial Services Committee, in a statement published on its website, called the law "the final product" of "years of bipartisan, bicameral collaboration."

Key provisions take effect on a rolling basis. Some sections, including changes to the HOME program, are scheduled to activate Oct. 1, 2026, according to enrolled bill text published by GovInfo.gov.

Sources cited:
- GovTrack.us, H.R. 6644 bill page (https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/119/hr6644)
- Bipartisan Policy Center, Inside the Deal: What's in the Final 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (https://bipartisanpolicy.org/issue-brief/inside-the-deal-whats-in-the-final-21st-century-road-to-housing-act/)
- National Low Income Housing Coalition, 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Explainer (https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/21ST_Century_ROAD_Explainer.pdf)
- Congress.gov, H.R. 6644 CRS Summary (https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/6644)
- Cherry Bekaert, Tax Policy Review: Key July 2026 Updates (https://www.cbh.com/insights/newsletters/tax-policy-review-key-july-2026-updates/)
- Wikipedia, 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21st_Century_ROAD_to_Housing_Act)
- U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, Statement on bill becoming law (https://financialservices.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=411189)
- GovInfo.gov, H.R. 6644 Enrolled Bill text (https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/BILLS-119hr6644enr)