A bipartisan group of legislators has introduced the Housing for the 21st Century Act in the U.S. House of Representatives as a companion bill to the Senate’s ROAD to Housing Act.
The Senate bill was originally submitted as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, but the House dropped it in its final version of NDAA.
The House bill features several components that aim to ease the housing building process and increase access to homes. Much of the language targets multifamily development, including:
- Managing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to establish guidelines for states and municipalities to modernize zoning,
- Exempting some multifamily projects from environmental review,
- Updating the federal definition of “manufactured homes” to include factory-produced housing units and
- Updating the maximum loan limits for Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance to reflect current costs for multifamily.
Multifamily industry leaders have been broadly supportive of the legislation, as has the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The bipartisan coalition of lawmakers said they will work with their Senate colleagues to advance the legislation in 2026, and MBA officials said they will work with legislators to reconcile the House and Senate versions. (Source)