'Multi-headed hydra' federal housing bill would bring changes to California

Stephen Hobbs, The Sacramento Bee on Mar 12, 2026

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The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan but controversial housing bill Thursday that would bring broad changes to California but faces an uncertain future.

The measure, called the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, aims to speed home construction through grants, limits on environmental reviews and reducing barriers for modular housing — those that are manufactured in factories and then assembled on site.

“It’s a big multi-headed hydra of a bill,” said Ben Metcalf, the managing director of the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley.

The measure passed 89-10 and now goes to the House of Representatives, which needs to pass the bill or work through differences with senators before it ever makes it in front of President Donald Trump.

“There’s a bunch in here that feels like there’s a catch-up to where California has been, but in a good way,” said Metcalf, who used to lead California’s housing agency.

State legislators have passed an array of measures in recent years to try and dramatically increase construction and reduce California’s high housing prices through zoning changes, increasing penalties for communities that don’t approve developments and cutting down on environmental reviews. They are also studying ways to expand the use of modular housing as a way to put together homes more cheaply.

Alex Shea, the chief financial officer of US-Offsite, a modular home builder with a factory in Redding, said the bill was “a step in the right direction” on the technology. It calls for the secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to review federal construction financing programs to “identify barriers to the use of modular home methods.”

It also expands the federal definition of what counts as a manufactured home to include those without chassis.

Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, who is leading the study of modular homes in the state Capitol said in a text message the change would provide more flexibility and unleash “some of our nation’s most productive housing factories to build newer models of much-needed homes.”

Only a few thousand of the pre-made units are currently being produced in California and the western United States every year.

A key point of contention around the federal bill is limits it would place on corporate owners, including a requirement that they sell rental homes seven years after purchasing them. Putting restrictions on institutional investors on buying and owning homes has drawn support from both Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“It will make sure that families own those homes — not giant corporations looking to jack up the rent and squeeze every nickel of profit they can out of American families,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said of the bill. Some national housing groups have pushed back strongly against that provision, which could imperil the legislation going forward.

“It would stall new communities from being built and divert investment away from an important affordable housing option for renters and their families,” leaders of the National Multifamily Housing Council and National Apartment Association said in a joint statement after the bill passed Thursday. Adding, the “requirement would effectively deny housing to Americans who choose to rent at different stages of life—limiting housing choice for seniors, military service members, families and students.”

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