U.S. Senate Committee Advances Major Housing Bill: How It Would Impact Cities

The bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act aims to boost housing affordability and supply without preempting local authority.

On July 29, the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee held a markup of the Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream (ROAD) to Housing Act of 2025 (pdf) and unanimously passed the package out of committee on a 24-0 bipartisan vote. The bill is said to be among the most comprehensive pieces of housing legislation since the Great Recession.

Notably, the bill contains no unfunded mandates or preemptions of local authority — despite other recent proposals to limit city powers.

Read a full section-by-section summary of the bill on the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee website (pdf).

How this bill would impact cities

The following provisions in the bill are of interest to cities:

• 201 – Rental Assistance Demonstration Program (RAD)
  Lifts cap on the Rental Assistance Demonstration program and extends protections for tenants in RAD buildings.
• 202 – Increasing Housing in Opportunity Zones
  Enables the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to prioritize applications for competitive HUD grants related to housing development or preservation that are in areas and communities designated as Opportunity Zones.
• 203 – Housing Supply Frameworks Act
  • Directs HUD to develop best practice frameworks for zoning and land use policies to help communities identify and overcome barriers to housing.
  • According to the bill’s cosponsors (pdf), the provision would update federal efforts to develop zoning frameworks under the State Zoning Enabling Act, a model law allowing states to authorize zoning regulations in their jurisdictions.
• 204 – Whole-Home Repairs Act
  Establishes a new HUD pilot program to support state and local home repair programs that provide grants and forgivable loans to homeowners and housing providers to assist with home repairs and modifications.
• 206 – Build Now Act
  Creates a pilot program to incentivize a variety of housing developments in localities (excluding states) that receive Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding. The pilot program would add a relatively small reward and reduction element to the CDBG program based on a to-be-determined criteria intended to promote housing development. The formula would:
  • Increase by 10% a city’s CDBG allocation for documented improvement in housing attainability measured against the city’s own historical record.
  • Reduce by 10% a city’s CDBG allocation for lack of improvement only in places that meet high housing demand criteria.

CDBG grantees that do not meet the high housing demand criteria would not be subject to the new reward and reduction element.

Any reduction in CDBG funds resulting from this formula element would be reallocated to other CDBG grantees.

In addition to the sections of the bill already mentioned, the bill would also:

• Streamline or relax some National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental review requirements including those impacting small and infill housing projects
• Authorize a new flexible grant program for local governments to help increase housing supply.
  • Eligible uses include any expenditure already approved for CDBG or the DOT RAISE grant program.
  • Grant funds could also be used to support or meet matching requirements for state revolving funds for clean and drinking water infrastructure.
  • Would target unmet infrastructure needs or other barriers to permitting construction of new housing.
• Authorize a new grant for local governments to create pattern books of pre-approved design plans suitable to their community.
• Boost grant applications for Build More Housing Near Transit grants for communities that allow greater housing development near transit.
• Reduce HUD inspection delays by allowing units that are financed through other federal housing programs to automatically satisfy voucher inspection requirements if inspected within the past year. The bill also permits new housing providers to request pre-inspections to make it easier for housing providers to participate in the voucher program.
• Permanently authorize the CDBG-Disaster Recovery program.
• Reauthorize the HOME program, which provides grants to states and local governments to create affordable housing for low-income households.
  • Increases the amount of grant funds that can cover administrative expenses.
  • Adds greater flexibility in local match requirements.
  • Expands support for community land trusts.
  • Includes possible new discretionary funds to renovate vacant and abandoned buildings into homes.

LMC staff take

The bill includes many League federal housing priorities, including:

• Increased flexibility and streamlining for existing programs.
• Added federal resources to help localities address housing needs.
• Assistance to support local decisions on land use and zoning changes.

While the new HUD framework regarding land use and zoning is not preemptive, the League will be closely monitoring how federally established frameworks impact conversations on zoning and land use reform during Minnesota’s 2026 legislative session.

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