Housing Bill Becomes Law Without Trump's Signature, Curbing Investor Home Purchases

WASHINGTON, A sweeping bipartisan housing bill became federal law on July 11 without President Trump's signature, ending months of negotiations between the House and Senate and enacting the most significant federal housing legislation in roughly three decades.

Trump neither signed nor vetoed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, H.R. 6644, allowing it to lapse into law after the constitutional 10-day window elapsed, according to GovTrack.us records reviewed for this report. The law is listed as Public Law 119-101.

The measure passed Congress by wide margins. The Senate approved the final version 85-5 on June 22, and the House followed the next day, 358-32, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center's section-by-section analysis of the final bill.

The law pulls together a supply-side package, a new restriction on large institutional investors, and an unrelated ban on a Federal Reserve digital dollar. The National Low Income Housing Coalition, in a statement following enactment, called it "the first major bipartisan housing package to become law since the 1990s."

The bill's most debated provision bars large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes. Under the statute, a "large institutional investor" is defined as any for-profit entity that directly or indirectly controls at least 350 single-family homes, according to an analysis published by Morgan Lewis. Civil penalties for violations can reach $1 million per violation or three times the purchase price of the property, whichever is greater, according to Rocky Mountain Real Estate Law's review of the enrolled bill.

Exceptions exist for build-to-rent projects and certain renovation programs, according to Cooley Finsights, which reviewed the act's financial services provisions. The law does not require existing investors to sell homes acquired before enactment.

The supply-side titles streamline environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act for housing projects, expand categorical exclusions, and authorize competitive grants for local zoning and planning updates, according to Wikipedia's article on the act. A separate title raises the FHA multifamily loan limit and creates a small-dollar mortgage pilot program at HUD.

A provision tacked onto the bill late in negotiations prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency through Dec. 31, 2030, according to the Cooley Finsights analysis. The ban codifies Trump's January 2025 executive order directing the administration not to pursue a CBDC. Cooley noted the sunset date signals the question is "deferred rather than resolved."

Trump had posted on Truth Social in May urging the House to pass the Senate's version of the bill outright, according to Wikipedia's account of the legislation's history. The White House had also issued a statement of administration policy strongly supporting the measure, according to a Mayer Brown legal update. Despite that backing, Trump postponed a planned signing ceremony on June 24, citing unresolved congressional matters, according to Morgan Lewis's review.

The Treasury Department must now issue regulations implementing the institutional-investor restriction. The statute bars Treasury from narrowing the statutory exceptions or adjusting the 350-home threshold through rulemaking, according to the Cooley Finsights analysis.

Bill Owens, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, said in a statement after congressional passage that the law "will help expand the nation's housing supply by reducing regulatory barriers," according to CNBC's July 11 report on the act. Economists quoted in the same report said institutional investors' purchase activity "remains relatively light" even in Sun Belt markets where corporate buyers have drawn scrutiny.

Sources cited:
- GovTrack.us, H.R. 6644 bill status (https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/119/hr6644)
- Bipartisan Policy Center, Inside the Deal: 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, Act Becomes Law (https://nlihc.org/resource/21st-century-road-housing-act-becomes-law-new-nlihc-resource-available)
- Morgan Lewis, Congress Limits Institutional Acquisition of Single-Family Homes (https://www.morganlewis.com/pubs/2026/07/congress-limits-institutional-acquisition-of-single-family-homes)
- Cooley Finsights, Key Financial Services Provisions in the ROAD to Housing Act (https://finsights.cooley.com/key-financial-services-provisions-in-the-road-to-housing-act/)
- Rocky Mountain Real Estate Law, Large Institutional Investor Limits (https://www.rockymountainrealestatelaw.com/2026/07/the-21st-century-road-to-housing-act-large-institutional-investor-limits/)
- Wikipedia, 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21st_Century_ROAD_to_Housing_Act)
- Mayer Brown, US Senate Advances Housing Legislation (https://www.mayerbrown.com/en/insights/publications/2026/03/us-senate-advances-housing-legislation-that-includes-a-ban-on-institutional-investors-purchasing-single-family-homes)
- CNBC, What the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Means for Homebuyers and Sellers (https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/11/21st-century-road-to-housing-act-homebuyers-sellers.html)