Bi-Partisan Housing Affordability Bill Passes as Trump Yawns

“Building costs are still high. There’s more we can do. This bill is nearly 50 provisions, but the problem is even bigger,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) stated.

Congress submitted the “21st Century Road to Housing Act” for Presidential approval as Trump said the bill was a “yawn” and allowed it to pass unsigned. “It’s not a Republican issue or a Democrat Issue,” said Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who sponsored the bill jointly with Warren. House hunters might make hay with Middle East peace, but this bill is a supply side victory over obtrusive local regulations and corporate housing ownership.

Trump opposes corporate housing proliferation and, exempting favored build-to-rent properties, the Housing Bill will limit corporate ownership to 350 houses. According to the Lincoln Institute, corporations now own 9% of urban residential plots, but local LLCs control most of these and only 2.4% are owned by out-of-state companies. The landlord’s personal relationship with tenants prevails, but five big players like American Homes 4 Rent “collectively owned 446,000 single family homes….”

Realtor Dylan Linde writes: “Here in the San Lorenzo Valley, institutional ownership has remained relatively limited. Mountain properties often have private roads, wells, septic systems, higher wildfire risk, and unique maintenance needs that don’t fit the standardized model these large investors prefer.”

Local zoning and building ordinances destroy housing opportunities and independence; Goldman Sachs reported in 2025 that deregulation could add 2.5 million homes in the next decade. Warren argues, “…this bill creates federal incentives for local communities to build more housing.” Congress would reward communities that build housing while funding home repairs and vacant office building renovations.

This bill enables builders to bypass environmental reviews when buildings are sandwiched between other buildings that passed reviews. For many, manufactured housing is better than rentals and this bill eases installation of cheaper and faster factory housing by eliminating the federally mandated permanent wheel chassis for homes that don’t move. It aids Fed-backed financing and bypasses local regulations limiting these homes to mobile home parks.

Many of Congress’s instructions revamp the Department of Housing and Urban Development.  HUD will encourage localities to build housing with a single stairwell up to six stories tall, architecture widely used abroad that CalMatters says could “bring down construction costs on mid-sized apartment buildings by as much as 13% without obviously elevating fire risk.”

Robert Arne, EA, CFP, MS, of Carpe Diem Financial Life Planning, gives holistic financial advice as his client’s fee-only fiduciary.  He serves mostly Santa Cruz Mountain dwellers. ​ These articles must not be read as personal financial, mortgage, tax or investment advice; consult appropriate professionals. ​