Key facts
- The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act will become law at midnight without President Trump's signature.
- President Trump refused to sign the bill in protest over the Senate's failure to pass the SAVE AMERICA ACT.
- The housing bill includes a temporary ban on the issuance of a U.S. central bank digital currency until the end of 2030.
- The legislation aims to reduce housing costs and increase housing supply by cutting regulations and limiting institutional investors' purchases of single-family homes.
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is set to become law at midnight, despite President Donald Trump's refusal to sign it. The legislation, which passed both the House and Senate with broad bipartisan support, introduces sweeping changes to national housing policies. The bill's primary goals include making it easier and more affordable to construct new homes, preventing large corporations from dominating the housing supply, and providing support to communities most vulnerable to the climate crisis. It aims to address the nation's housing supply gap by encouraging mixed-use buildings, easing restrictions on alternative housing types, and offering tax incentives for development in dense areas. The legislation also revises requirements such as minimum lot size and building height, and provides federal funding for construction and repair grants, particularly for low-income households.
In addition to supply-side measures, the ROAD to Housing Act allocates resources for disaster-affected communities, standardizing land-use planning and addressing emergency housing needs. A new program within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will coordinate recovery efforts after disasters, with low-income households, rural communities, and veterans explicitly named as beneficiaries. A pilot program will also assess temperature-related housing complaints in federally funded rental units.
Furthermore, the bill seeks to ensure homes are prioritized for people over corporations by placing limits on the number of single-family homes that large institutional investors can purchase. This measure, which aligns with a policy Trump previously advocated for, is intended to improve affordability for renters and buyers.
President Trump indicated he would not sign the bill, instead calling for the passage of the SAVE AMERICA ACT, a federal election bill. He posted on Truth Social that the housing bill's signing conference was canceled until the SAVE AMERICA ACT was passed. Under the law, a bill presented to the President has 10 days, excluding Sundays, to be signed or vetoed before it automatically becomes law. Trump's final posts on Friday confirmed his intention not to sign.