On July 29, the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee held a markup of the bipartisan Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream (ROAD) to Housing Act of 2025, and passed it out of committee unanimously 24-0. This was the first time in over a decade that Senate Banking held a markup on a housing package. 

The legislation is comprised of at least 27 previously introduced bills, 23 of which had bipartisan sponsorship. As the bill currently stands, it would be the most comprehensive piece of housing legislation since the Great Recession. 

What’s in the Bill? 

The bill seeks to address the nation’s escalating housing crisis by tackling a wide range of issues: boosting housing supply, reducing regulatory barriers, modernizing financing systems, improving rural and manufactured housing access, and enhancing oversight and accountability across key federal housing programs.  

Key provisions for Regional Development Organizations (RDO’s) include: 

• Sec. 202 – Increasing Housing in Opportunity Zones 

• • Allows HUD to prioritize applicants that are based in or primarily serve communities designated as Opportunity Zones for any competitive grants relating to housing development or preservation. 

• Sec. 203 – Housing Supply Frameworks Act 

• • Directs HUD to publish guidelines and best practices for state and local zoning and land-use policies. 

• Sec. 204 – Whole-Home Repairs Act 

• • Create a HUD pilot program to support state and local whole-home repair programs, which provide grants and forgivable loans to eligible homeowners and landlords for home repairs and modifications. 

• Sec. 206 – Build Now Act 

• • Ties some localities’ Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to their housing production, including bonuses for accelerated homebuilding and small funding reductions for lagging grantees. 

• Sec. 207 – Better Use of Intergovernmental and Local Development (BUILD) Housing Act 

• • Authorizes HUD to treat certain housing assistance as “special projects” to help simplify compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). 

• • Expands HUD’s authority to delegate certain environmental review responsibilities to states, local governments, and tribes. 

• Sec. 208 – Unlocking Housing Supply Through Streamlined and Modernized Reviews Act 

• • Streamlines NEPA review for a broad range of housing-related activities—including small-scale construction, rehabilitation, and infill development—by expanding categorical exclusions to reduce delays and lower administrative burdens. 

• Sec. 209 – Innovation Fund 

• • Creates a $200 million annual competitive grant program for local governments and tribes that demonstrate measurable increases in housing supply, incentivizing reforms such as streamlined permitting, density bonuses, and zoning changes. 

• Sec. 210 – Accelerating Home Building Act 

• • Provides grants to local governments and tribes to select and implement pre-reviewed housing designs (such as accessory dwelling units, duplexes, or townhouses) to streamline affordable housing construction, with 10 percent of total funding reserved for rural areas and a 5-year window for adoption. 

• Sec. 211 – Build More Housing Near Transit Act 

• • Incentivizes applicants for federal transit project funding to adopt pro-housing policies—including by-right zoning and reduced parking minimums. 

• Sec. 212 – Revitalizing Empty Structures into Desirable Environments (RESIDE) Act 

• • Creates a pilot grant program to help local governments convert vacant commercial or industrial buildings into affordable housing, prioritizing economically distressed areas and Opportunity Zones, with funding from excess HOME Investment Partnerships Program grant allocations. 

• Sec. 405 – Choice in Affordable Housing Act 

• • Aims to reduce delays in HUD inspections by allowing units financed through certain federal housing programs—the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), the HOME Program, and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Housing Service—to automatically meet Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) inspection requirements if they have passed an inspection within the past year. 

• • Allows new landlords to request advance inspections, helping to expand housing options for voucher holders and incentivizing greater landlord participation in the HCV program. 

• Sec. 501 – Reforming Disaster Recovery Act 

• • Permanently authorizes and reforms HUD’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program to better address the needs of low- to moderate-income households following major disasters. 

• Sec. 502 – HOME Investment Partnerships Reauthorization and Improvement Act 

• • Reauthorizes the HOME Investment Partnerships Program. 

• • Makes administrative revisions and reforms to support housing production. 

• Sec. 503 – Rural Housing Service Reform Act 

• • Makes changes to the USDA’s Rural Housing Service programs, including decoupling rental assistance from maturing mortgages, permanently establishing the Housing Preservation and Revitalization program for multifamily rental housing, and providing funding for technology improvements and increased staff capacity. 

• Sec. 802 – Streamlining Rural Housing Act 

• • Directs HUD and USDA to conduct joint environmental reviews for housing projects receiving funding from both agencies. 

For a full section-by-section summary of the bill, click here. For legislative text, click here. 

What’s Next? 

There is no current discussion about when, or even whether, the full Senate will take up the proposal. A House markup on this legislation is expected to be held sometime this fall.  

NADO will continue to monitor developments and assess their potential impact on housing policy and affordability.