21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Provisions

September 8, 2026

Passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is meant to tackle the nation’s housing challenges by boosting housing supply, unlocking private capital, providing updates to grant programs and streamlining federal regulations to speed up construction.

The National League of Cities has identified 35 provisions directly related to housing regulations, operations, and services at the local level.

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Opportunities for Housing

Section 102.
Federal guidelines for point-access block buildings

Requires HUD to establish best practices and provide technical assistance to state and local entities to support permitting and building code approval for point-access block buildings (i.e., apartments with a single staircase to access the dwelling units and that are no more than six stories high).

It also allows HUD to award competitive grants to state and local entities to assess the feasibility, safety, and cost-effectiveness of such buildings. This authority expires after seven years.

Section 103.
Exemption on construction or modification of residential housing located on an infill site

This section exempts from environmental review specified rural housing projects located on an infill site (i.e., a site served by existing infrastructure, including water lines, sewer lines, and roads).

Section 104.
Database of publicly owned land

Requires Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) grantees to maintain a publicly accessible, searchable database identifying publicly-owned undeveloped land within their jurisdictions. Funding to establish and maintain this database is an eligible expenditure under the CDBG program.

Section 106.
Temperature Sensor Pilot Program

Requires HUD to establish a three-year pilot program to award grants to public housing agencies (PHAs) and owners of federally assisted rental housing to install temperature sensors in residential dwelling units.

Section 107.
Housing supply frameworks

Requires HUD to appoint a task force of experts, including members of local zoning and planning boards and local and regional transportation planning organizations, to develop r models for state and local zoning frameworks that support production of adequate housing to meet the needs of communities and provide housing opportunities for individuals of all income levels.

Building More in America

Section 201.
Increasing housing in opportunity zones

Allows HUD to give additional weight to HUD competitive grant applications that include proposals for projects located in, or substantially benefiting, communities within Qualified Opportunity Zones (i.e., designated low-income areas for which economic investments may receive certain tax benefits).

Section 202.
Whole-Home Repairs Act

Authorizes a pilot program through which HUD provides competitive grants to state and local governments to support the ability of certain landlords and low- to moderate-income homeowners to make necessary modifications, repairs, or updates to their property.

State and local governments must use the funds they receive under the program to award grants to homeowners and loans to landlords to make changes that address issues such as accessibility, habitability, and energy efficiency.

Section 203.
Community Investment and Prosperity Act

Increases the statutory Public Welfare Investment cap that limits banks’ investments in community development projects from 15% to 20%. unlocking billions in additional capital available for investment in affordable housing.

Section 204.
Addition of affordable housing construction as an eligible activity

Authorizes the new construction of affordable housing as an allowable use of funds under the CDBG program. CDBG grantees may allocate up to 20% of their annual grant on new construction activities.

Section 205.
Better Use of Intergovernmental and Local Development (BUILD) Housing Act

Allows HUD to designate housing assistance as funds for a special project for the purpose of environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Such designation allows states, local governments, or tribal entities to assume responsibility for the project’s environmental review obligations.

Section 206.
Unlocking Housing Supply Through Streamlined and Modernized Reviews Act

Requires HUD to reclassify certain housing activities as exempt or excluded from specified environmental review requirements under NEPA. These activities include tenant-based rental assistance, supportive services, rehabilitation of public facilities, and infill projects to develop residential housing units.

Section 207.
Grants for planning and implementation associated with affordable housing

Establishes a five-year competitive grant program to assist local jurisdictions or regional planning agencies in developing housing plans to increase affordable housing and reduce barriers to housing development.

Section 208.
The Innovation Fund

Establishes a seven-year competitive grant program to assist metropolitan cities, urban counties, local governments, or tribes that have demonstrated improved housing supply growth.

Grants may be used to expand the housing supply available to households at specified income levels.

Section 209.
Accelerating Home Building Act

Authorizes competitive grants for local governments, municipal membership organizations, and tribes to select pre-reviewed designs of mixed-income housing for use in the grantee’s jurisdiction.

Grants may not be used for construction, alteration, or repair work.

Section 210.
Revitalizing Empty Structures Into Desirable Environments (RESIDE) Act

Authorizes a pilot program from FY2027-FY2031 under the HOME Investment Partnerships Program to award competitive grants to states and localities to convert vacant and abandoned buildings into housing that serves low- and moderate-income households.

Section 212.
Rental Assistance Demonstration Program

Makes the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program permanent and increases from 455,000 to 555,000 the number of housing units that may be converted to Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) properties under the program.

Section 213.
Build Now Act

Adjusts the allocation of CDBG funds to certain jurisdictions based on the annual percentage change in the number of available housing units in the jurisdiction.

For example, jurisdictions with annual growth above 4% shall receive up to 10% of additional funding, while jurisdictions with a growth rate below the median housing growth rate compared to other jurisdictions shall receive up to 10% less funding.

Manufacturing Housing for America

Section 301.
Housing Supply Expansion Act

Eliminates the requirement that manufactured homes must be constructed with a permanent chassis.

Additionally, HUD must issue revised standards for such homes, including energy efficiency standards.

Section 303.
Property Improvement and Manufactured Housing Loan Modernization Act

Increases the maximum FHA-insured loan amount for (1) improvements to single-family structures, and (2) purchasing manufactured homes. The section also authorizes the use of property improvement loans for construction of accessory dwelling units.

HUD must study and report on the cost effectiveness of constructing manufactured and modular homes.

Section 304.
PRICE Act

Reauthorizes the Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement (PRICE) program for seven years. The program provides competitive grants to renovate manufactured-housing communities.

Accessing the American Dream

Section 404.
Helping More Families Save Act

Establishes a pilot program under HUD’s Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) initiative to promote economic mobility and homeownership by enabling more families to grow their household savings. The program accomplishes this by directing increases in income into interest-bearing saving accounts that would later become accessible, rather than calculating the increase in income to decrease the rental subsidy.

Section 405.
Choice in Affordable Housing Act

Allows housing units financed through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, HOME Investment Partnerships Program, and Rural Housing Service to satisfy the inspection requirements of the Section 8 program if they have passed an inspection within the past year.

The section also allows new Section 8 landlords to request an inspection before entering a lease agreement with a tenant under the program, subject to specified conditions.

Program Reform

Section 501.
HOME Investment Partnerships Reauthorization and Reform Act

Modifies and reauthorizes the HOME Investment Partnerships program. The program provides grants to state and local governments to create affordable housing for low-income households.

The section expands eligibility for the program to households with an income of not more than 100% of the median family income for the area. The current income threshold is 80% of the median income for the area.

Further, participating jurisdictions may, subject to certain conditions, use funds under the program to improve infrastructure, including the installation or repair of water and sewer lines, sidewalks, roads, and utility connections.

The section also exempts certain projects, such as infill development or acquisition, from specified environmental review requirements.

Section 502.
Rural Housing Service Reform Act

Modifies programs administered by the Rural Housing Service (RHS).This includes requiring the RHS to maintain any rental assistance payments that are attached to a multifamily property during the foreclosure process or while managing and disposing of a multifamily property that is owned by HUD.

The section also authorizes the RHS to renew a rental assistance contract with the owner of a multifamily property for a term of 20 years after the owner’s mortgage term ends.

Section 503.
Incentivizing Local Solutions to Homelessness

Allows states and localities receiving assistance under the HUD Emergency Solutions Grant program to request a waiver to exceed the 60% spending cap on emergency shelter activities for FY2027-FY2030.

Section 504.
Reforming Disaster Recovery Act

Authorizes for three years HUD’s Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery program (CDBG-DR). The program provides assistance to state and local grantees to rebuild disaster-impacted areas and support long-term recovery efforts. Annual authorization will bring standardization for grantees eligible for the program.

The section also requires grantees under the program to prioritize assistance for individuals with extremely low-, low-, and moderate-incomes and other vulnerable populations.

Section 505.
New Moving to Work Cohort

Establishes a new “Moving to Work” demonstration program to provide Public Housing Agencies exemptions from certain public housing and voucher rules, allowing them to design and test innovative, localized strategies to improve self-sufficiency and housing assistance.

Veterans and Housing

Section 602.
Housing Unhoused Disabled Veterans Act

Provides statutory authority for excluding disability benefits from a veteran’s income when determining eligibility for the HUD Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program.

Accountability, Coordination, Studies & Reporting

Section 801.
HUD–USDA–VA Interagency Coordination Act

Requires HUD, USDA, and the VA to enter into an interagency agreement to share relevant housing-related research and market data to facilitate evidence-based policymaking. The effect will be improved alignment in the administration of federal housing programs.

Section 802.
Streamlining Rural Housing Act

Requires HUD and USDA to evaluate the (1) environmental review process for housing projects funded by the agencies and (2) feasibility of a joint physical inspection process for such projects. 

Section 804.
GAO Studies

Requires the GAO to study various housing issues, including

obstacles to affordable housing facing middle-income households,

barriers to supportive housing for older adults and individuals with disabilities,
the number of residential housing units (including public housing units) that are located less – than one mile from a Superfund site (a site contaminated with hazardous substances), and

how to address or reduce the number of residential heirs properties (property inherited without a will.

Section 805.
Improving Public Housing Agency Accountability

Requires Public Housing Agencies under federal scrutiny, such as those in receivership or under federal monitor, to increase certain disclosures and provide annual notices to HUD for assessments that will be provided to Congress.

Strengthening Community Banks Role in Housing

Section 908.
Promoting new bank formation

Creates a two-year phase-in pilot for de novo financial institutions (new community banks) to meet Federal capital requirements. The provision encourages growth in the number of community banks serving local credit needs.

Section 909.
Rural depositories revitalization study

Requires federal regulators to jointly study ways to improve the growth, capital adequacy, and profitability of rural depository institutions and to identify regulatory barriers to these goals and to the formation of new depository institutions, with a report to Congress due within one year of enactment. The provision also encourages growth in the number of community banks serving local credit needs.

Homeownership for Main Street America

Section 1001.
Homes for people, not corporations

Prohibits large institutional investors that invest in single-family homes (and have investment control of at least 350 such homes in aggregate) from purchasing additional single-family homes. The section authorizes specified agencies to issue rules to implement the prohibition.

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