US Senate passes bipartisan bill to lower housing costs

21st Century Road to Housing Act, which aims to boost supply and stop investors buying up homes, heads to House

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The Senate on Monday passed a bipartisan measure aimed at lowering housing costs by streamlining construction and permitting, ending months of fraught negotiations on a priority for both parties ahead of November’s midterm elections.

The 21st Century Road to Housing Act would limit investors’ ability to buy homes, waives some federal permitting rules in a bid to ease new construction, and authorizes pilot programs to facilitate grants for home improvements and planning affordable housing. It passed the Senate overwhelmingly, with a vote of 85-5, and now heads to the House of Representatives.