By Matt Wasieleksi | Bisnow
The build-to-rent industry is on the edge of winning a contentious battle on Capitol Hill that threatened its business model.
After weeks of debate and deadlock, a provision that would have forced BTR operators to sell properties after seven years of ownership, among other restrictions, has been stripped from an amended version of the 21st Century Road to Housing Act released by senior lawmakers in the House of Representatives late Wednesday.
House leadership is hoping broad bipartisan support will get the bill through the chamber in a vote next week under suspension of rules, a procedure that limits debate but requires a two-thirds majority to pass, Politico reported. If it wins approval, the compromise bill would still have to go back to the Senate for a final vote.
President Donald Trump put pressure on the House to pass the legislation earlier this week, saying in a social media post that “The American Dream of Homeownership is under attack.”
The BTR restrictions were introduced in the Senate’s version of the bill in March, setting off a furious lobbying effort from both operators and affordable housingadvocates who argued an effective ban on the business model would hinder housing supply.
The addition of the amendments to the bill were enough to stifle activity in the sector in recent months.
The bill cleared the Senate on March 12 and went to the House for approval, but it was frozen on arrival amid lobbying for changes to the restrictions. A bipartisan group of 76 House members said in an April 22 letter to the House majority and minority leaders, Republican Mike Johnson and Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, that they wouldn’t advance the legislation without the BTR restrictions being stripped from the bill.
