On July 11, 2026, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act became law. Following a year of negotiations from the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate and the White House, this comprehensive housing package passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in the Senate (85–5) and the House (358-32), bringing relief to America’s cities, towns and villages, as their communities are experiencing a housing supply crisis (PDF).
This housing bill intends to not only boost housing supply, but to tackle the nation’s housing challenges by:
- Increasing and preserving housing supply through public and private-sector assistance and incentives.
- Providing timely updates to federal grant programs, including the Community Development Block Grants and the HOME Investment Partnerships Program.
- Unlocking private capital to increase lending for more housing types.
- Streamlining federal regulations to speed up construction.
U.S. cities, towns and villages will not be able to take advantage of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act’s provisions as quickly as they were able to do under COVID-ERA programs like the Emergency Rental Assistance Program. This law authorizes several new programs, but it does not directly fund them. Cities will have to apply competitively for grants and pilot programs, and funding for these provisions will depend on future decisions by the U.S. Appropriations Committees. In addition, most provisions in this federal legislation require federal agencies to implement changes within 12, 18 or 24 months of enactment.
Due to the construction and timeline for implementation of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, America’s cities, towns and villages have time to plan, prepare and partner to take advantage of provisions that will become programs.
Plan, Prepare and Partner
America’s cities, towns and villages can start leaning into the work and resources of the Housing Supply Accelerator. Created by the National League of Cities and the American Planning Association in 2022, the Housing Supply Accelerator is a national campaign tasked with helping communities tackle their local housing challenges by identifying locally-driven housing supply solutions that expand, preserve and improve the quantity and quality of housing.
To assist cities with identifying locally driven solutions, NLC and APA created the Housing Supply Accelerator Playbook. This playbook is a resource that will help your community compete for the 21st Century ROAD to Housing’s pilot and grant programs. It provides a roadmap for accelerating local housing supply options with strategies for collaboration and partnership, construction and development, finance, land use and regulations, and infrastructure and workforce as well as guidelines to plan, prepare and partner.
Plan
For cities to competitively compete for grant opportunities — such as regional housing planning grants, innovation funds, pattern book and pre-approved design grants, whole-home repair program and reside grants, to name a few — cities will need to effectively communicate their needs to their members of Congress and federal agencies through their local housing strategy.
A local housing strategy should encompass the following components:
- Analyze local housing needs and demographic trends;
- Define clear policy objectives and strategic goals;
- Identify diverse funding sources and financial incentives;
- Develop a phased implementation plan;
- Establish key metrics to track success.
If your city has not embarked on developing a housing strategy, or needs to update its housing strategy, a resource to utilize is the Housing Supply Accelerator Field Guide. A companion resource to the Housing Supply Accelerator Playbook, the field guide helps local leaders to:
- Visualize your community’s housing future;
- Identify opportunities and barriers;
- Align your community vision with actionable, time-bound goals;
- Transform your goals into actionable steps.
Additional resources to support developing or updating your housing strategy include the Filling in the Gap Tool: Unlocking Housing Finance, the Housing Supply Accelerator Fact Sheets and the Housing Supply Accelerator Challenge.
Prepare
To meet the housing moment and ensure your city is prepared to receive funding, cities are encouraged to engage with NLC, which should consist of:
- Subscribing to the Federal Advocacy and 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act mailing lists for updates, resources and events.
- Joining the Community & Economic Development Committee.
- Submitting housing supply policy recommendations and amendments to the National Municipal Policy.
- Engaging in federal rulemaking opportunities.
- Participating in Congressional City Conference events and housing appropriation campaigns.
- Sharing suggestions and feedback with National League of Cities on the 21st Century ROAD to Housing content, resources and tools your city needs to address housing challenges.
Partner
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is not a go-it-alone bill. This bill is an example of Congress choosing partnership with local governments and the private sector to address the nation’s housing shortage of millions of housing units.
Similarly, cities should prioritize partnerships to deliver the housing units their community needs. Prioritizing partnerships should involve strengthening and deepening their partnerships — with builders, realtors, lenders, chambers of commerce, local employers, economic development agencies, metropolitan planning agencies, school districts, transportation agencies, housing state agencies, housing policy experts, federal and state partners, philanthropic partners, and local and regional organizations that care about housing — to discuss what can be done to help deliver on that promise of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.
If your city is looking for strategies to strengthen and deepen collaboration and partnerships, the Housing Supply Accelerator Playbook provides a blueprint for engagement that can lead to success with delivering housing through shared responsibility.
Explore the Ultimate Housing Resource for City Leaders
The Housing Supply Accelerator Playbook: Solutions, Systems, Partnerships, a collaboration by National League of Cities and American Planning Association, is a comprehensive resource that focuses on how city leaders can accelerate locally driven housing solutions.
About the Author
21st Century ROAD to Housing Act
21st Century ROAD to Housing Act FAQs
Filling the Gap Tool: Unlocking Housing Finance
Housing Supply Accelerator Fact Sheet Series
Infrastructure’s Role in Housing Development
