After months of negotiations, the House and Senate have reached a deal on the 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a major compilation of housing bills that modernize certain federal housing programs.

While the wide-ranging housing policy bill does not invest new dollars into housing programs, it authorizes some new programs and reforms rules for a variety of existing housing programs, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) HOME Investment Partnerships Program, Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD), rural housing administered by the Department of Agriculture, and many more. The bill also requires HUD to issue guidelines and best practices for improved state and local zoning to speed up housing production.

During the negotiations, a controversial provision requiring large, for-profit investors in housing to divest of current housing ownership was removed and the institutional investment ban was softened. The latest negotiations also produced compromises to bring back language favored by Democrats that codifies support for disaster recovery activities by HUD.

The negotiations also added additional guardrails for transactions through RAD, which LeadingAge’s initial analysis shows will not limit preservation transactions by our affordable senior housing provider members.

The agreed-upon bill text also streamlines requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which LeadingAge had advocated for, as well as a directive for HUD to reassess implementation of Building America, Buy America (BABA) requirements that have proven problematic for LeadingAge members developing or preserving affordable housing.

As of June 18, the Senate is preparing to vote on the bill; LeadingAge expects the bill to pass imminently. After that, the bill moves back to the House for a vote, then to the president.