The “Housing for the 21st Century Act” (H.R.6644) passed the full U.S. House of Representatives by a strong bipartisan vote of 390-9 on February 9. The bill was introduced on December 11 by House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) Chairman French Hill (R-AR), Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA), Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance Chair Mike Flood (R-NE), and Subcommittee Ranking Member Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) (see Memo, 12/15/25). The bill passed out of the HFSC on December 17, 2025 (see The Connection, 12/19/25). NLIHC has endorsed the legislation.
The “Housing for the 21st Century Act” includes 27 provisions related to streamlining local, state, and federal processes; reforming federal programs, including the HOME Investment Partnership program, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, and Rural Housing Service (RHS) programs; manufactured housing; veterans’ access to housing; housing counseling; rental housing for elderly and disabled residents; and federal program oversight. Chairman Hill added a new title of community banking provisions since the bill passed out of committee in December. Five housing provisions are based on bills NLIHC supports:
- Section 101 – “Housing Supply Frameworks Act”
- Section 201 – HOME Reform
- Section 204 – Rural Housing Service Program Improvements (some components of the “Rural Housing Service Reform Act”)
- Section 205 – Choice in Affordable Housing
- Section 301 – Manufactured Housing Innovations
- Section 406 – Establishment of Eviction Helpline
“NLIHC applauds the House for passing the Housing for the 21st Century Act, which includes much-needed, common sense reforms that will help build housing more efficiently, reduce construction costs, and cut red tape to make it easier to build affordable homes,” said NLIHC President and CEO Renee M. Willis in a Up for Growth press release on the bill’s passage. “I thank House Financial Services Committee Chair Hill, Ranking Member Waters, and their colleagues for working together on this important piece of legislation.”
The Senate may take up its version – the “ROAD to Housing Act” – in the coming weeks. The ROAD to Housing Act was attached to the Senate’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act (see Memo, 10/14/25), but it was not included in the House’s version after Chairman Hill objected to its inclusion. To reach a final bill, the two chambers will need to negotiate the differences between their bills and reach a consensus on a final legislative text that can pass both the House and the Senate. There is some overlap between the two bills, with about half of the provisions in the House bill matching or being very similar to those in ROAD to Housing.
In a statement of administration policy issued on February 9, the White House stated that the Housing for the 21st Century Act includes several of the president’s reforms but still lacks some presidential priorities, specifically a ban on the purchase of single-family homes by large institutional investors.
As negotiations on a housing package continue, NLIHC will keep our network informed on progress and opportunities for action.
Read the Up for Growth press release here.
The bill text is available here.
A one-pager is available here.
A section-by-section is available here.