The path forward for the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act remains uncertain as House Republican leaders, the White House, and key committee leaders continue working through possible changes to the Senate-passed housing package. (Punchbowl News, May 8)

State of Play

• This week, House Financial Services Committee leadership continued efforts to find a path forward on a House-amended version of the Senate-passed housing bill, but a floor vote soon after lawmakers return from recess next week now appears unlikely. (PoliticoPro, May 6 | Politico, May 4)

• House leaders are still working through legislative language and seeking White House support before moving forward. They have made clear the Senate bill cannot pass the House as written. (PoliticoPro, May 6)

• Section 901 remains at the center of the debate, which would limit the role of large investors in the single-family housing market and impose a seven-year forced-sale requirement on certain build-to-rent homes. (Punchbowl News, May 8)

• President Trump privately raised concerns with the Senate-passed bill, despite earlier White House support for the package, and was reportedly close to publicly objecting to the Section 901 language late last week. (Politico, May 4)

• The developments follow President Trump’s recent comments to Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA), a member of the House Financial Services Committee, that he wants the legislation moving forward. (Roundtable Weekly, May 1)

• Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said last week that the Senate housing bill is “stuck” and will likely require direct White House involvement to resolve the standoff with House GOP leadership. (Politico, May 4)

RER Advocacy

• RER and broad housing coalitions have consistently emphasized that housing affordability is driven by supply shortages, construction costs, and mortgage rates—not institutional ownership levels—and that restricting institutional capital would only make it harder to meet the nation’s growing housing needs. (Roundtable Weekly, Jan. 9 | Jan. 16 |  Jan. 23 | Feb. 27| March 6 | March 13 | March 20 | March 27 | April 3 | April 10 | April 17 | April 24 | May 1)

• Last week, RER and a broad housing coalition urged Congress to fix the Senate-passed 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act by removing language that would undermine build-to-rent housing construction and weaken the bill’s goal of expanding housing supply. (Letter, April 30)

• The groups called on Congress to remove Section 901, pass a pro-supply housing package, and allow BTR developers and workers to get back to building the new rental homes the country urgently needs. (Roundtable Weekly, May 1)

HUD Eases Reviews

• HUD announced this week that it is revising environmental review requirements in the FHA Multifamily Accelerated Processing (MAP) Guide, eliminating outdated provisions that HUD said have added costs, delays, and complexity for lenders and developers seeking FHA-insured multifamily financing. (HUD Press Release, May 4)

• The updates are intended to reduce development costs, eliminate operational inefficiencies, and streamline requirements. (AHF, May 5)

• HUD Secretary Scott Turner said the changes are aimed at “fixing policies that have made housing expensive and difficult to build,” adding that HUD is cutting outdated requirements, reducing costs and delays, and putting FHA financing back to work to support housing production and affordability.  (HUD Press Release, May 4)

Workforce Housing Legislation

• Reps. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) and Mike Carey (R-OH) introduced the bipartisan Workforce Housing Tax Credit (WHTC) Act (H.R. 8626), which would create the first federal middle-income housing tax credit. (Rep. Panetta Press Release, May 6)

• The proposal is estimated to finance approximately 344,000 affordable rental homes and would allow state housing finance agencies to allocate credits through a competitive process similar to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). (Novograd, May 6)

• The bill would also give states flexibility to transfer middle-income housing allocations to LIHTC and allow projects to combine both credits, helping make more mixed-income and affordable housing developments financially feasible.

RER and its coalition partners continue to urge Congress to advance a pro-supply housing package that expands production, preserves capital formation, and avoids policies that would make new rental homes harder to finance and build.