REBIC – Senate Passes Major Housing Legislation Despite Serious Industry Concerns

From REBIC - 3/17/26

On March 12, the Senate passed the 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act in an attempt to bolster the nation’s housing supply. (Link here to article.)

NAHB has previously supported the bill, which had included many favorable positions for the housing industry. But a number of provisions from the House-passed Housing for the 21st Century Act — which NAHB had also supported — were weakened or removed entirely, including regulatory relief for community banks and long-needed updates to the formulas for FHA multifamily loan limits. The current language cuts some of the multifamily loan limits below what HUD currently allows, which will have a detrimental impact on low to moderate income renters.

The most alarming change, however, is a mandate that would force the sale of private property based solely on the type of owner. Section 901(c) would force purpose-built single-family rental housing to be sold within seven years if the new owner is defined as a large institutional investor.

This provision undermines the production of purpose-built single-family rental housing, which typically serves families seeking rental housing with three or more bedrooms. NAHB believes this requirement would severely curtail investment in single-family rental housing.

“The provision requiring institutional investors to sell built-for-rent single-family homes within seven years would severely reduce investment in single-family rental housing and could slash single-family production by nearly 40,000 units per year,” 2026 NAHB Chairman Bill Owens noted in a statement.

NAHB actively advocated to remove this mandate, including outreach to Senate leadership, interviews with key media outlets, and a grassroots advocacy campaign by members this week to emphasize to their Senators the impact of this forced-sale requirement on the housing market.

Following passage of the bill, NAHB is urging a conference between the House and the Senate to reconcile the differences between the House’s Housing for the 21st Century Act and the Senate’s 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. Specifically, NAHB will be calling on House and Senate lawmakers to strike the government mandate to sell rental housing within seven years to ensure it will not lead to a decrease in housing supply and to pass a final package that includes the best housing provisions in each of the respective bills.

Rob’s Take: These days housing affordability seems to be on just about everyone’s mind. It’s not just me saying that. I’ve seen polling data over the last two years that indicates it’s a really big concern. In fact it is the top issue for most. It is encouraging that Congress is making an effort to address this, and we know that policy bends and changes, but most of our challenges and impediments to prosperity occur right here at the local level.

The key difference between the Senate and House versions of the bill presented above is the forced divestiture provision that kicks in after seven years of ownership. That’s a problem for builders that build for-rent single family home communities in order to fill a market need. It’s also a problem for those who seek to reinvest realized capital gains in Opportunity Zones where properties must be retained for ten years in order to realize maximum benefit. There’s time for the House and Senate to figure this out, but the clock is ticking.