House Advances New Bipartisan Bill Targeting Housing Affordability Crisis

A new bill aimed at tackling the housing affordability crisis has advanced out of committee in the U.S. House, renewing hopes that the federal government will take action to address soaring costs.

The House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday voted 50-1 to advance H.R. 6644, the Housing for the 21st Century Act, setting the stage for a vote in the full House. The bill would also need Senate approval and President Donald Trump's signature to become law.

The bill was sponsored by House Financial Services Chair French Hill, an Arkansas Republican, and supported by the committee's ranking member Maxine Waters, a California Democrat.

It comes after House Republicans stripped a similar bipartisan Senate bill, known as the ROAD to Housing Act, out of the crucial National Defense Authorization Act, saying they preferred to pursue a stand-alone housing bill.

The Housing for the 21st Century Act is similar in many regards to the Senate proposal, but comes in a more streamlined package that removes many of the Senate provisions related to homelessness, VA loans, and opportunity zones.

However, the centerpiece of the House measure remains an initiative to establish a federal "best practices" framework for local zoning and land use policies, which could be copied and implemented by local jurisdictions at their discretion.

The House bill also retains the Senate plan to create “pattern books” of prereviewed home designs, to make it easier to build homes that are always complaint with local building codes.

If widely adopted by localities, those measures could make it much easier for homebuilders to get through the zoning and permitting processes by establishing uniform standards, instead of the patchwork of local rules that currently cover the nation, says Realtor.com® senior economist Joel Berner.

"Zoning regulations are notoriously nonuniform and thorny, preventing new players from entering many local markets," says Berner. "By standardizing a recommended set of them, the federal government can help municipalities help builders."

In a statement, the National Association of Homebuilders praised the bill's advancement, saying it "takes much-needed steps toward addressing our nation’s critical lack of housing."

The group noted that the bill would remove regulatory burdens for infill and midsized construction and eliminate time-consuming duplicative review processes under the National Environmental Policy Act, among other measures.

Mortgage Bankers Association President Bob Broeksmit also issued a statement praising the Housing for the 21st Century Act, specifically noting its provisions for updating FHA multifamily loan limits, improving rural housing programs, and strengthening coordination across federal agencies.

“Passing bipartisan housing legislation is a must," says Broeksmit. "We urge House and Senate leaders on both sides of the aisle to work together to reconcile differences, maintain this momentum, and deliver meaningful housing legislation for President Donald Trump to sign into law as soon as possible."

The National Association of Realtors® also backed the new bill, sending a letter of support to the Financial Services Committee urging its passage.

"The Housing for the 21st Century Act takes meaningful steps to expand housing supply and improve affordability through smart, bipartisan reforms," says Shannon McGahn, NAR's executive vice president and chief advocacy officer.

The bill's bipartisan passage through the Financial Services Committee is a positive sign for its eventual passage, with only one dissenting vote on the panel of 30 Republicans and 24 Democrats.

Hill, the committee's Republican chair, said in his prepared remarks on Tuesday that the bill would "create real, tangible solutions that will streamline housing development and affordability by updating outdated programs, removing unnecessary federal requirements, and increasing local control."

"This long brewing housing shortage is not just an economic risk. It threatens the stability and quality of life of millions of Americans who are struggling to find reasonably priced homes," said Hill.

Berner, the housing economist, says that he is hopeful the bill would provide a jolt to homebuilders if passed into law.

"The best way to expand the housing supply in the U.S. is to get government out of builders' way," he says. "Modernizing and streamlining zoning restrictions is a major step in that direction."