The House of Representatives on Monday passed the Housing for the 21st Century Act, making changes to federal housing regulations, which proponents say could drive down the cost of homes.
The bill, sponsored by Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill, R-Ark., passed by a 390-9 margin. Eight Republicans and one Democrat voted against it, while 33 members did not vote.
The bill advanced out of the committee on a bipartisan basis in December 2025 and has the backing of ranking member Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.
Waters said in a December statement that it “makes meaningful reforms to housing programs that will make them more effective, efficient, and responsive to the needs of today’s families.”
During a floor speech Monday, Waters praised the bill for including a Democrat-backed provision, which would allow states to use Community Development Block Grant funds for the construction of affordable housing.
A press release from Hill’s office says the bill “streamlines housing production and affordability by updating outdated programs, removing unnecessary federal requirements, and increasing local flexibility.”
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If signed into law, the bill would require that the Department of Housing and Urban Development publish new recommendations for zoning policy, which state and local governments could choose to adopt. Additionally, the bill attempts to simplify federal environmental standards for building projects.
The bill would also simplify the process for providing housing grants, remove a regulation requiring that manufactured homes have a “permanent chassis,” remove barriers for veterans to access public housing, and set up a process for Congress to conduct oversight of HUD.
Additionally, the bill contains multiple provisions to ease regulations on community banks.
“The bill tackles an important roadblock to housing: financing,” reads an op-ed in The Hill co-authored by Hill and Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb. “Without loans, homes don’t get built, and community and regional banks play a critical role in this.”
Now the House is one step ahead of the Senate in advancing housing legislation.
The Senate has previously included the ROAD to Housing Act in a version of the National Defense Authorization Act that it passed in October 2025.
However, in the final version of the NDAA, bicameral negotiators excluded it.
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