The 21st Century Road to Housing Act is expected to become law this week, after passing both the House and Senate by wide margins last month. The housing bill will become law this week either if President Trump signs it or it reaches 10 legislative days since its passage. The president had been due to sign the bill into law shortly after its passage, but delayed the ceremony on the condition that Congress first pass a federal voter registration law; he has not suggested he would veto the bill, which is one of his signature legislative priorities of this session of Congress.
The 21st Century Road to Housing Act is aimed at increasing housing supply, improving affordability, and curbing institutional investor influence in the single-family housing market while expanding federal support and oversight for housing programs. A provision of the bill threatened to limit access to senior living by restricting certain property purchases, including those within senior living communities, with limited exceptions that apply only to new construction, renovations, and rental conversions.
Argentum, the American Seniors Housing Association, and the National Center for Assisted Living successfully advocated for language that provides legislative intent to exclude senior living communities from an unintended consequence of the legislation. This language was formally inserted into the Congressional Record and states, “purchases of homes used to provide residential care for individuals with disabilities or developmental disabilities, or in senior living communities, should be exempt, as these are unrelated to the problem being addressed by the Act.”
Argentum sincerely appreciates our members who personally reached out to key lawmakers to press this issue for a satisfactory resolution.