Council Backs 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act

The Council adopted a resolution offered by Councilors Culpepper, Worrell, and Pepén in support of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, co-introduced by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Tim Scott, is a bipartisan legislative package designed to address the nation’s housing affordability crisis by expanding housing supply, modernizing federal housing programs, and reducing barriers to home construction.

The resolution highlights the severe housing shortage across the United States, estimated at millions of homes nationwide, which has contributed to rising housing costs and made it increasingly difficult for families, renters, and first-time homebuyers to find affordable housing. It also notes that the shortage is particularly acute in high-cost cities such as Boston, where the city and surrounding region face an estimated shortage of tens of thousands of homes, intensifying affordability challenges for working families and contributing to some of the highest housing costs in the nation.

According to the resolution, the legislation includes provisions to streamline outdated regulations, expand financing tools for multifamily housing, and support innovative housing solutions such as manufactured and modular homes in order to accelerate housing production. It also seeks to ensure that families have a fair opportunity to purchase homes by limiting the ability of large institutional investors to acquire excessive numbers of single-family homes, helping prevent corporate ownership from crowding out prospective homeowners.

The resolution further notes that on March 12, 2026, the United States Senate passed the bipartisan housing package with strong support from both parties, reflecting the urgent national need to address housing supply constraints and affordability challenges.

Through this measure, the Council expresses its strong support for the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act and urges the United States House of Representatives to promptly pass the legislation to increase housing supply, improve affordability, and expand access to homeownership and housing opportunities for families across the nation.