House Approves Revised Housing Bill in Major Win for NAHB

In a significant victory for NAHB and the broader housing sector, the U.S. House of Representatives approved an amendment to the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act that removes a build-to-rent (BTR) sales provision that would have hurt affordability and reduced much-needed housing supply.

NAHB led the push to remove the provision, which would have required purpose-built single-family rental homes to be sold within seven years. According to NAHB and the Urban Institute, the measure could have cut rental housing supply by 40,000 to 72,000 units each year. It also would have displaced thousands of tenants annually, shrinking the rental market and putting further pressure on rents.

At a time of severe housing shortages and affordability challenges, BTR remains one of the few market segments adding tens of thousands of homes that otherwise would not be built. Many of these homes serve lower- and middle-income households.

The amended House bill also includes several other NAHB-backed measures to boost housing production:

• Increases and indexes multifamily loan limits. FHA-insured multifamily loan limits have not changed in 12 years and no longer reflect market realities. Raising and indexing these limits would better match construction costs and support new apartment development.
• Provides meaningful relief to community banks. NAHB members depend on community banks to finance residential construction, but fewer of these lenders remain on Main Street. The amended provision would strengthen community banks and expand access to housing credit.
• Includes HOME program reforms. These changes would improve flexibility and predictability by expanding eligible uses and streamlining environmental reviews.
• Evaluates the feasibility of point-access buildings. This would let HUD offer competitive grants for pilot programs to assess where these buildings are practical and appropriate.
• Establishes a public land database. State and local governments receiving Community Development Block Grants would need to maintain a database of undeveloped publicly owned land.
• Exempts certain USDA infill reviews. Eligible USDA-assisted infill projects would be exempt from environmental studies or reports when specified conditions are met.

NAHB will continue to engage with the Senate as the legislative process moves forward.