OKPOLICY.ORG
Key takeaways
- The bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act is a major first step toward increasing housing supply and affordability, but many of its reforms will require action from Oklahoma lawmakers to take effect.
- Oklahoma should act now by developing a statewide housing plan, modernizing zoning and building codes, limiting corporate homeownership, and positioning the state to compete for new federal grants.
- Federal reforms alone will not address Oklahoma’s shortage of affordable housing, inadequate rental assistance, or broken eviction process. State lawmakers must invest in affordable housing and enact stronger protections for renters.
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Congressional members rarely agree on anything, but last month they agreed on one thing: all Americans should have the opportunity to own a home.
On July 11, 2026, Congress passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a bipartisan housing package. The Act was passed in response to a national shortage of affordable housing. The Act contains 59 provisions related to housing supply, disaster recovery, manufactured housing, mortgage financing, rural housing, veterans’ housing, public housing, and community banking.
The bill does a lot, but one thing it does not do is absolve the state legislature of their duty to ensure Oklahomans have safe, affordable housing. Several of its provisions will require state legislative action. There are also housing challenges that the bill doesn’t solve – the lack of adequate tenant protections and a broken eviction process, for example – that state lawmakers will need to address. Now it’s time for the Oklahoma Legislature to follow Congress’s lead and do their part to address the housing crisis in Oklahoma.
The housing bill contains a lot of good reforms, but state leaders need to act to unlock its full potential
Zoning dictates what kinds of housing can be built where. Zoning regulations can hinder the production of affordable housing by limiting the amount of land available to build on or increasing the cost of development. The Housing Supply Frameworks Act directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to identify best practices for zoning and land use to increase housing supply, and develop a “state zoning framework” and “local zoning framework.” The Act says zoning and land use reforms HUD should consider for inclusion in the recommendations include reducing parking minimums, eliminating restrictions on accessory dwelling units (ADUs), increasing the types of housing allowed duplex, triplex, or quadraplex buildings across cities or metropolitan areas without approval, and policies to encourage housing near public transportation. The state legislature will need to act on these recommendations when they are released.
HUD is not required to release the state zoning frameworks until 2029, but state leaders can make best-practice reforms without waiting. They could follow the lead of states like Montana, Washington, and Texas by ending exclusionary single-family zoning; making it easier to build more diverse, affordable housing like duplexes, triplexes, and ADUs; or allow property owners to build single-family homes on smaller plots of land. These measures have been shown to drive down the price of housing.
HUD will establish a competitive grant by 2027 to assist state and local governments with planning and implementing policies associated with affordable housing and community development. State leaders need to develop a housing plan to be competitive for this federal funding.
Additionally, the ROAD to Housing Act bans most corporate ownership of single-family homes. Oklahoma City and Tulsa rank 4th and 14th most popular cities respectively for mega investors, limiting homeownership opportunities for Oklahomans. The state legislature should pass a state law mirroring federal law to reinforce the ban and create a mechanism to follow up on reports of law violation.
The legislation also contains some building code reforms, including reducing staircase requirements for some buildings and updating building codes for manufactured housing to increase affordability. Oklahoma will need to update its building codes to align with the new federal law. Thanks to the advocacy work of Housing Forward, the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission advanced several reforms, including Oklahoma’s staircase requirements.
At present, Oklahoma does not have a commission, task force, or housing agency tasked with creating a statewide housing plan, unlike many other states. While the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency is the steward of federal and state housing funds, it is not mandated to create a statewide housing plan. Thus, in order to act on the provisions and recommendations contained in the ROAD to Housing Act and potentially unlock federal funding, state legislators should form a statewide housing commission or task force. Sen. Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City had a bill to do just that this spring, but legislators failed to advance it.
State leaders still need to act on housing problems not solved by the federal housing act
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act does not solve every housing challenge. State legislators need to be prepared to fill the gaps in funding and rental subsidies, as well as address Oklahoma’s high eviction rates.
First, the legislation does not provide any additional funding. Congress will need to fund these measures through the federal budget process. However, state leaders should not wait for the federal government to decide if or how much they will fund the policies enacted in this bill. Rather than passing more irresponsible tax cuts that benefit the wealthy, Oklahoma legislators should invest in grants, loans, and programs that grow Oklahoma’s affordable housing stock.
Oklahoma can start by adequately funding the Oklahoma Housing Trust Fund. The fund provides low-interest loans to build housing for low- and moderate-income households — or those with incomes up to 120 percent area median income (around $78,000 per year) — but the Legislature only made a one-time $4.7 million appropriation when the fund was established in 1998. This limited initial investment means it cannot support housing development at the scale Oklahoma needs. Twenty-nine states plus Washington D.C. have housing trust funds with dedicated, recurring revenue. State leaders could put more money into the Fund to support additional housing projects, particularly those serving the lowest income families, where the need is greatest.
One of the biggest missed opportunities of the federal housing bill is that it does not address woefully underfunded Housing Choice Voucher program, meaning most people who need rental assistance will continue to not receive it. In Oklahoma City alone, there are more than 18,000 households on the waitlist, according to the Oklahoma City Housing Authority. Rather than wait for federal aid, thirty-three states and Washington, D.C. have created state-based rental assistance programs to complement the federal Housing Choice Voucher program. Oklahoma should do the same.
Lastly, the ROAD to Housing Act does not fix Oklahoma’s broken eviction process and lack of tenant protections against bad actor landlords. Oklahoma renters can still go from being a day behind on rent to being removed from their home in under two weeks. Oklahoma renters still do not have protections against landlord retaliation like renters in 44 other states, and they still have very little recourse to hold negligent landlords accountable. Bills to extend the eviction timeline and add legal remedies for tenants to hold landlords accountable failed in the 2026 legislative session; these policies should be introduced again and passed next session.
The federal housing act is a solid step, but the job is not done
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is noteworthy for the number of policy solutions enacted and the bipartisan agreement that housing is out of reach for too many people. As remarkable as this progress is, it does not mean the work is finished. It certainly does not mean that state leaders can throw up their hands and declare the housing crisis solved.
Oklahoma still needs more than 84,000 affordable rental units to meet the needs of extremely low-income households (making about $20,000 per year for a family of four). Over half of Oklahoma renters are spending more than 30 percent of their income on rent, putting them at risk for eviction and homelessness, and eviction courts are still packed. The federal housing bill won’t make all of these problems disappear. Furthermore, where the recently passed legislation can help, state action is still required.
Rather than waiting for the federal government, the state legislature should build on federal progress and take the next steps to ensure every Oklahoman has a safe, affordable place to call home.
