Housing bill passes Senate with lawmakers under pressure

Katy O'Donnell and Rachel Schilke, Bloomberg News on Jun 22, 2026

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The Senate passed a sweeping housing bill on Monday, bringing Washington one step closer to enacting the most significant housing legislation in a generation.

The package — which passed in a 85-to-5 vote — would curb institutional investors’ influence in the housing market while streamlining rules to unlock supply.

The House and Senate had been trading competing versions of the affordability bill for months before a bicameral deal was announced last week. The agreement came as policymakers on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue clamor to show voters they are doing something to tackle cost-of-living concerns ahead of this fall’s midterm elections.

“The bill we’re passing today sends a clear message to every American struggling to find a place they can afford: elected leaders understand the problem and are actually doing something to try to solve it,” Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said ahead of the vote.

The measure must still be approved by the House before going to President Donald Trump’s desk. The House returns this week from recess, and the bill will join a host of priorities for the chamber. Given the bipartisan nature of the bill, it’s expected that Speaker Mike Johnson will bring the legislation up under suspension of the rules, which requires a two-thirds majority.

Federal policymakers have struggled for years to find the right tools to tackle soaring housing costs rooted in a supply shortfall. Trump complicated negotiations earlier this year when he threw out a spate of affordability proposals, including the restrictions on institutional investors, prompting lawmakers to find a way to reflect that idea in legislation.

The compromise legislation the Senate passed would bar large investors with more than 350 homes from purchasing additional single-family properties, but it exempts build-to-rent projects from those restrictions.

The package includes banking deregulatory measures sought by Republicans in the House and wage requirements important to Democrats in the Senate. It would also prohibit the Federal Reserve from developing a central bank digital currency through 2030.

In a boost for factory-built housing, the bill would eliminate the permanent chassis requirement for manufactured homes and establish the Department of Housing and Urban Development as the primary regulator of modular housing. It would also establish a HUD program for mortgage loans under $100,000.

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(With assistance from Steven T. Dennis.)

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