Bipartisan home affordability bill passes the House [View all]

Source: NPR

May 20, 2026 1:37 PM ET


Republicans and Democrats in the House voted Wednesday to pass a bill to address the nation's housing affordability crisis. It encourages homebuilding across the country and would ban corporate landlords from buying up more than 350 houses.

The bill passed 396 to 13, and is an amended version of one passed by the Senate two months earlier. The two chambers still have to agree on a single version before they can send it to the president for his signature.

Both parties are eager to show they are taking legislative action ahead of the midterms to deal with the country's housing crisis. A shortage of homes has driven up prices to an average of $400,000, well outside the range of what many Americans can afford. Just getting more homes into the market faster would help ease the shortage, with Realtor.com estimating there's a 4 million unit gap between available housing and the demand.

If passed, this would be the largest piece of housing legislation in decades.

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2026/05/20/nx-s1-5827166/house-passes-housing-affordability-bill