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21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Attempts to Pave the Way for Housing Innovation
Print PDFThe 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act became law automatically on July 11, 2026, after the President neither signed nor vetoed the bill. As the largest piece of housing legislation in decades, the law contains more than 40 provisions aimed at increasing housing supply and affordability. The law focuses on modernizing programs and reducing regulatory barriers, with no additional appropriations authorized to carry out its requirements. Several highlights of the Act are discussed below.
Incentives for Municipalities
The Act establishes several grant programs to increase housing production. In awarding the grants, Section 201 allows the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to prioritize projects primarily located in or benefiting areas designated as qualified opportunity zones under Section 1400Z-1 of the Internal Revenue Code.
The Act now allows funding from the Community Development Block Grant Program to be used for the construction of new affordable housing. Additionally, the HUD Secretary will establish a competitive grant program for planning and implementation associated with affordable housing. Eligible activities include the development of housing plans, updating zoning codes, and advancing sustainable or location-efficient community development goals.
To facilitate the supply of attainable housing, the Act establishes an Innovation Fund. Eligible cities, urban counties, local governments, and tribes that have demonstrated measurable increases in housing supply may apply for grants ranging from $250,000 to $10,000,000. These grants can be used to carry out any of the activities described in Section 105 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 or the activities permitted under the Local and Regional Project Assistance Program. Other eligible purposes include streamlining regulatory requirements, relaxing zoning restrictions, and instituting incentives to promote dense development.
The Act also provides grants to localities and tribes to select pre-reviewed housing designs of covered structures of mixed-income housing—including accessory dwelling units, duplexes, and townhouses—to streamline affordable housing construction. Ten percent of the total funding per fiscal year is reserved for rural areas.
The Act creates a pilot program from fiscal years 2027 through 2031 to award competitive grants to eligible entities to convert vacant and abandoned buildings into attainable housing.
It also allows HUD to award grants for pilot programs to assess the feasibility of point-access block buildings—or single staircase apartments with three or more stories—where they make local sense.
Emphasis on Manufactured Housing
Provisions under Title III make it easier to develop manufactured and modular housing. Section 301 updates the federal definition of “manufactured housing” to include units that are not built on a permanent chassis. Additionally, no energy efficiency standards for manufactured housing will take legal effect until adopted by HUD.
Section 302 requires the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to assess barriers to FHA-insured lending for modular housing, and Section 303 updates mortgage lending standards for manufactured housing through FHA. Section 304 authorizes HUD’s Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement (PRICE) Program to provide grants to entities to maintain and stabilize manufactured housing.
Impacts to Homeowners, Tenants, and Landlords
The Act creates a pilot program to expand access to small-dollar mortgages of $100,000 or less.
To stabilize aging housing stock, Section 202 creates a pilot funding state, local, and tribal programs that award grants and forgivable loans to homeowners and landlords for repairs and modifications. Lastly, Section 212 increases the cap for the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program by 100,000 units and codifies tenant protections.
The ROAD to Housing Act also contains provisions calling for increased inter-agency collaboration, new studies on key housing issues, and increased accountability. Title IX focuses on strengthening community banks’ role in housing by modernizing banking regulations to expand local lending. Contact a Nutter attorney if you have questions on these or other provisions.
This advisory was prepared by Valerie Moore and Matt Snell in Nutter’s Real Estate Department. For more information, please contact the authors or your Nutter attorney at 617.439.2000.
The authors would like to thank Summer Associate Chloe McAllaster for her contributions to the article.
This advisory is for information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any specific facts or circumstances. Under the rules of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, this material may be considered as advertising.
