St. Louis, MO, July 27, 2026 —

A new federal law, the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, has been introduced with the stated goal of improving housing affordability across the nation. The legislation targets several key areas, including placing limits on the extent of corporate landlord ownership, offering incentives for local governments to ease zoning regulations, and aiming to reduce barriers that hinder new housing construction.

Despite the legislative effort, some housing experts express concerns that the act may not fully address the root causes of the current housing affordability crisis. Carol Camp Yeakey, a professor and housing expert at Washington University, has voiced an opinion that the bill’s scope is insufficient.

According to Yeakey, the 21st Century Road to Housing Act does not adequately tackle the persistent issue of restrictive local zoning laws, which are often cited as a major impediment to increasing housing supply. Furthermore, the expert pointed to the gap between stagnant wage growth and the rapid escalation of housing costs as a fundamental problem the bill does not resolve.

While the new law aims to curb the purchasing power of corporate landlords, Yeakey also noted a significant omission: the absence of regulations on rent increases. This, she suggests, could allow for the continuation of financial strain on lower-income individuals, even with limits on corporate ownership. The effectiveness of the 21st Century Road to Housing Act in achieving its affordability goals remains a subject of debate among housing policy analysts.


Story summarized from the original created by Kavahn Mansouri on www.stlpr.org, see more information here.

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