21st Century Road to Housing Bill Advances to the Senate
The House passed the 21st Century Road to Housing Bill today by a 396-16 vote under suspension of the rules, signaling strong bipartisan support as the Senate prepares to consider the measure when it returns in June. This procedure allows the House to move legislation quickly, typically when a bill has broad support.
That level of support was evident in today’s vote.
The final bill was revised in response to industry input, especially provisions that we believed could have harmed the LIHTC. House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (R-AR) and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) also made floor statements yesterday clarifying that the institutional investor ban is not intended to affect Housing Credit properties:
“Entities participating in federal or state affordability programs, including the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, are important parts of the current system that help expand the supply and affordability of housing. We must ensure these beneficial programs are not unintentionally swept in during implementation when they are not the source of the underlying problem we are trying to address: the institutional investor challenge and the need to level the playing field between individual buyers and large investors,” said Chairman Hill.
“The bill was not intended to affect military housing, student housing, disability housing, or LIHTC-supported housing. Given congressional intent, Treasury should use its authority to address these concerns, reduce market disruption, and limit negative effects on consumers and communities,” said Ranking Member Waters.
The legislation raises the PWI cap from 15 percent to 20 percent and remains well-positioned for inclusion in a final package. If enacted, the higher cap would provide meaningful support for the LIHTC equity market, and the revised bill would still direct HUD to review its BABA waiver process. The bill also eliminates the Senate-passed requirement that build-to-rent (BTR) properties be sold after seven years.