Congress this week passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act with overwhelming bipartisan support, clearing the Senate 85–5 and the House 358–32 after months of negotiations over the most significant federal housing package in decades. (Politico | Axios | CNBC | Bill Text | One-pager | Section-by-Section, June 24)

State of Play

• House Republican leaders are transmitting the bipartisan housing bill to the White House following Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) meeting with President Trump on Thursday, starting the 10-day window for the president to sign or veto the measure once it is formally delivered. (Politico, June 26)

• “Congress has work to do, and that’s what we’re going to do,” Johnson said after the meeting. He also said he expects Trump to sign the bill. (ABC News, June 25)

• If Trump does not sign or veto the bill within 10 days, excluding Sundays, it becomes law without his signature under the Constitution. The bill passed both chambers this week with veto-proof majorities. (Axios, June 25)

• The move follows the White House’s decision Wednesday to cancel a planned signing ceremony after Trump said he would not sign the measure until Congress passes the SAVE America Act. (Truth Social, June 24 | NYT, June 25)

• In a joint statement, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) called the Senate’s bipartisan vote “an important step toward addressing America’s housing affordability crisis” and said the bill reflects years of work with the White House, Senate, and House to increase supply and expand access to affordable housing. (Senate Banking Press Release, June 22)

• After final passage in the House on Tuesday, Chairman French Hill said, “This is a true bicameral, bipartisan product that demonstrates what can happen when both chambers work together to deliver real solutions.” (Press Release, June 23)

Why It Matters

• The bill is the most consequential housing package in a generation, with reforms aimed at increasing housing supply, boosting homeownership, and improving affordability. (One-pager | Section-by-Section, June 24)

• The package advances major reforms to modernize federal housing programs, streamline environmental reviews, reduce barriers to construction, support manufactured housing, build more homes in Opportunity Zones, encourage transit-oriented development, and promote local zoning and land-use reforms. (Roundtable Weekly, May 22 | June 18)

• For CRE, the most significant change remains the removal of the unconstitutional seven-year forced-sale mandate for build-to-rent housing, which would have required certain owners to sell newly built single-family rental homes after seven years. (RER Fact Sheet, June 8)

• The Real Estate Roundtable (RER) and other housing stakeholders warned that the mandate would be counterproductive—discouraging new construction and undermining efforts to increase housing supply.

RER Advocacy

• RER commended congressional leaders for their work to advance the amended 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act in a statement from RER President and CEO Jeffrey D. DeBoer. (RER Statement, June 18)

• “This landmark, bicameral legislation advances a comprehensive package of reforms to help build more homes, improve affordability, protect private property rights, and preserve the capital needed to finance housing nationwide,” DeBoer said.

• DeBoer noted that the bill includes major reforms to modernize federal housing programs, streamline environmental reviews, reduce barriers to new construction, support manufactured housing, build more homes in Opportunity Zones, restore critical community banking provisions, encourage transit-oriented development, and promote much-needed land-use and zoning reforms. (RER Fact Sheet, June 8)

• DeBoer also emphasized that the reforms will take time to reach the housing marketplace. “These reforms are significant, but they will take time to fully filter into the housing marketplace and begin correcting the supply imbalance caused by years of underbuilding and regulatory barriers,” DeBoer said.

What’s Next

The bipartisan housing package now awaits final action. RER continues to urge swift enactment of the bill to advance supply-focused reforms that can help address the nation’s long-standing housing affordability crisis.