House passes revised housing package with key county wins

Key Takeaways

On May 20, the U.S. House of Representatives passed (396-13) an amended version of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (H.R. 6644).  The revised legislation reflects direct feedback from counties and includes several NACo-supported changes that reduce local financial risk and preserve county flexibility in administering housing and community development programs.  

What are the major changes for counties in the House-revised housing package?

Build Now Act removed, preserving flexibility for counties

A provision carried over from earlier versions of the legislation, known as the Build Now Act, ties Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to local housing production. Under the framework, eligible CDBG recipients that exceed the median housing growth improvement rate would receive bonus allocations, while jurisdictions falling below the median would face funding reductions to finance those incentives.

Counties have consistently expressed concern that unpredictable funding shifts could undermine long-term community development planning and make it more difficult to leverage CDBG investments for multi-year housing, infrastructure and economic development projects.

In a major win for counties, the House-amended text removes this provision altogether, stabilizing critical community development funding, particularly for counties with unique land use or zoning challenges.

When the revised bill was initially introduced, it included the following reforms to Build Now, in lieu of the provision's wholesale removal:

• Caps penalties at $1 million, limiting local fiscal exposure  
• Reduces the sunset period from 15 years to 5 years  
• Expands the emergency declaration exemption window from 1 year to 5 years  

Ultimately, the House opted to remove the provision altogether. However, the Senate has started looking for alternative vehicles for this section, including a major cryptocurrency package, the CLARITY Act.

Still, the removal of this provision represents a meaningful step toward addressing county concerns about long-term mandates, administrative burdens and financial liability under the original Senate proposal.

Institutional investor provisions significantly improved

The House-amended bill also removes several provisions counties and housing stakeholders viewed as overly restrictive for housing production. The revised language:

• Eliminates the divestment requirement for large institutional investors  
• Fully exempts build-to-rent (BTR) developments  
• Fully exempts large, single-parcel rental developments that would otherwise require additional subdividing  

Counties expressed concern that the original language could unintentionally delay or discourage large-scale housing projects that would expand housing supply in local communities. Additionally, the forced sale of BTR properties may result in displacement of tenants unable to afford to purchase their unit. The House-amended provisions help preserve critical development pathways and protect housing access for rental households.

By reducing unnecessary regulatory complexity and maintaining flexibility for certain large-scale developments, the revised language better aligns with county efforts to expand housing availability while supporting responsible community planning and economic development.