Authors:
David Garcia, Deputy Director of Policy
Julie Aguilar, Research Analyst
PUBLISHED ON July 11, 2026
The U.S. Congress formally passed the 21st Century Road to Housing Act (ROAD Act) on Tuesday, June 23, and it became law on Saturday, July 11.* This bill culminates over a year of bipartisan, bicameral negotiations. In its final form, the nearly 400-page ROAD Act contains dozens of provisions—ranging from policies that support best practices in zoning and land use changes at the state and local level, to reforms to manufactured housing regulations and that curb large investor activity in single-family home purchases.
Individually, these disparate components represent mostly technical or narrowly tailored reforms; none of these alone will likely change the game for housing supply and affordability across the country. Much more work remains, especially as it pertains to improving outcomes for recipients of federal housing support and returning to an evidence-based approach to addressing homelessness. However, as a whole, the various provisions of the ROAD Act comprise the most significant housing reform package Congress has passed in a generation, setting the stage for even bigger reforms in the future.
Passage of the ROAD Act cements housing as a top tier issue for both parties
One can hardly overstate the significance of passing the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, not just because of the legislation’s complexity, but because lawmakers reached any agreement at all. In an era of hyper-polarization, it is an unlikely outcome that legislators from such disparate political backgrounds moved such an intricate set of reforms through several rounds of negotiations. Passing this act required Democrats Elizabeth Warren (Ranking Member, Senate Banking) and Maxine Waters (Ranking Member, House Financial Services Committee – HFSC) to work in extended good faith with Republicans Tim Scott (Chair, Senate Banking) and French Hill (Chair, HFSC), as well as the White House. Such bipartisan, good-faith legislating is largely unheard of today; the ROAD Act serves as an exception to the norm and demonstrates that the need to address housing affordability transcends traditional political barriers.
Several key provisions were authored by members from both parties who, in many other instances, struggle to agree on other policy matters. For example, deeply conservative Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana partnered with progressive stalwart Senator Warren to craft the BUILD Now Act (codified in Section 213), which ties Community Development Block Grant program dollars to housing construction in high-cost, supply-constrained markets. Similarly, Republican Representative Mike Flood of Nebraska (Chair of the HFSC Housing Subcommittee) and Democratic Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware (Senate Banking Committee) co-led the Housing Supply Frameworks Act (Section 107), directing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to develop zoning and land use best practices for localities. The list of bipartisan sponsors continues well beyond those mentioned here.
Previously non-starter policies gain acceptance
Many architects of the ROAD Act moved beyond their parties’ longstanding positions during broader negotiations. For example, in previous Congresses, the idea of Democrats championing the loosening of environmental rules seemed impossible. In this Congress, however, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reform became a priority for some Democrats who expressed that the well-meaning law needlessly delayed and increased the cost of new housing, despite staunch opposition from some environmental groups. This mutual policy priority between Democrats and Republicans resulted in ROAD’s Better Use of Intergovernmental and Local Development (BUILD) Housing Act provision (Section 205), which expands NEPA exemptions for most infill housing.
In another example, Congressional Republicans have traditionally balked at programs that require new spending. Yet, in ROAD, both House and Senate Republicans agreed to Senator Warren’s new $200 million innovation fund program (Section 208). The fund asks congressional appropriators to create a flexible pool of funding for communities that increase their housing supply. Republicans also supported the reauthorization and modernization of the HOME program (Section 501), despite repeated proposals from the White House and the House Budget Committee to zero out funding.
ROAD also expands the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program (Section 212), which allows Public Housing Authorities to take on debt to preserve and rehabilitate their units. Ranking Member Maxine Waters had previously opposed the RAD program, stating it might “do more harm than good.” Ultimately, members of both parties and chambers overcame those and other reservations.
Research and analysis get a boost
ROAD also directs research into understudied topics, including requiring HUD to assess the cost-effectiveness of supporting housing finance for factory-built housing (Section 303) and to identify barriers to insured lending for modular housing (Section 302). Section 205 directs HUD to review the application of Build America, Buy America rules on affordable housing projects and to issue updated guidance. Section 804 directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct several assessments, including a report on barriers to workforce and senior housing. The GAO must also research challenges related to heirs’ property (property handed down without legal documentation). Furthermore, localities must conduct local analyses to qualify for certain funding programs, including creating accessible inventories of underdeveloped and publicly owned land (Section 104). Research requirements like these can help shed light on critical housing issues and provide data and evidence to guide future policy development.
Creatively lowering the cost to build and expanding financing options
ROAD includes several common-sense reforms to address high construction costs and expand financing options. Regarding manufactured housing, Section 301 eliminates a long-standing HUD rule requiring a permanent steel chassis. This, combined with a recent rule change loosening restrictions on multistory manufactured homes, could expand the use of factory-built homes and reduce construction costs. Section 303 also updates Federal Housing Administration (FHA) lending rules to allow home improvement loans for manufactured homes used as accessory dwelling units (ADUs). This change opens a new pipeline of financing for homeowners who wish to build an ADU but lack the resources to do so with a federally backed product. Additionally, Section 102 allows HUD to establish federal guidelines for point-access block buildings (single-staircase apartments), which could reduce the cost of “missing middle” housing.
Lawmakers also made important changes to funding rules. Section 203 increases the Public Welfare Investment Cap from 15 percent to 20 percent of overall capital, enhancing banks’ capacity for private investment in affordable housing. Furthermore, Section 204 reforms the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program to allow for new construction; cities can now allocate up to 20 percent of their CDBG funds toward new housing development, an activity previously prohibited.
This commentary highlights some of ROAD’s most impactful reforms, though dozens more exist, such as the authorization of a disaster relief funding program, modernizations to rural housing programs, and limitations on large investor purchases of single-family homes. Many of these changes are small in nature and much more work can and should be done around federal approaches to increasing housing supply. ROAD also does not appropriate any money to improve or expand critical demand-side programs. Nor does the bill address any of the contentious actions taken by the current administration, such as the substantial staffing cuts at HUD or proposing to eliminate the mixed-status rule or move away from a housing-first approach to homelessness. All of that said, the passage of the 21st Century Road to Housing Act is a landmark achievement, marking the most significant federal housing reform in a generation.
Beyond the technical details, the significance of ROAD also lies in its existence as a bipartisan, bicameral product. The ability of lawmakers from such varied political backgrounds to broker such a sweeping package suggests that Washington is finally ready to take housing supply and affordability seriously.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to our colleagues, including Sarah Karlinsky and Ben Metcalf, for their thoughtful reviews of this piece.
This commentary does not represent the institutional views of the University of California, Berkeley, or of the Terner Center’s funders. Funders do not determine research findings or recommendations in the Terner Center’s research and policy reports.
*This post was originally published on June 24, 2026, when Congress had passed the legislation, and it was awaiting signature from President Donald Trump. It has been updated to reflect that it became law on Saturday, July 11, without the President’s signature.