The landmark 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act has become law despite President Donald Trump’s refusal to sign the legislation.
The House of Representatives formally transmitted the bipartisan legislation to the White House at the end of June, triggering a 10-day period after which the bill would be enacted even without the president, who continued to protest lawmakers’ inaction on the SAVE America Act, a controversial voter eligibility bill that he favors.
This meant the 21st Century Road to Housing Act became law at midnight July 10. Here are six points to know about the largest housing bill in decades:
The bill places restrictions on large institutional investors from buying single-family homes. However, it does not include an earlier proposal that would have required investors to sell build-to-rent (BTR) properties within seven years. This is good news to housing leaders, who warned that this measure would have essentially eliminated the BTR market;
The bill increases the public welfare investment (PWI) cap from 15% to 20%, which has been a top priority for the affordable housing industry this. The increase has the potential to unlock billions of dollars of investment in the low-income housing tax credit, which is especially important following the historic expansion of the program in 2025. “There are a number of banks that would like to invest more in the housing credit but have been constrained by this outdated cap,” says Emily Cadik, CEO of the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition. “We are thrilled that it has been lifted and anticipate seeing increased demand for the housing credit as a result;”
The legislation reauthorizes and reforms the HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) program to support housing production, notes Sarah Brundage, president and CEO of the National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders;
The bill increases the cap for the Rental Assistance Demonstration program by 100,000 units;
The legislation improves flexibility for grant programs, including the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. According to officials, the bill expands the use of the CDBG program for new affordable housing construction projects. In addition, the legislation authorizes the CDBG-Disaster Recovery for three years; and
- The bill also increases the Federal Housing Administration’s multifamily statutory loan limits for the first time since 2003 (along with a required comparative study of the program), which the Mortgage Bankers Association applauds.