Build-to-Rent Construction Falls 18.5% Amid ROAD Act Doubts

Congress gave build-to-rent a hall pass. Investors are still waiting to see if Treasury will honor it.

Build-to-rent units under construction fell 18.5% from a year earlier in the third quarter, newly finished units dropped 40.2% and sales of whole communities sank 51.5%, HousingWire reported, citing the National Apartment Association ^[1]. Operators blame lingering doubt over how the ROAD Act's ban on large investor home purchases will be enforced ^[1].

How the rules stand

• The ROAD Act was signed July 11, 2026, and starts Jan. 7, 2027, according to American Homes 4 Rent's 10-Q filed Nov. 5 ^[2].
• The law limits big landlords' home buying but exempts homes bought through a build-to-rent program, from other large investors or with heavy renovation, AMH said ^[2].
• Treasury's October draft rule would exempt purpose-built rentals bought within 18 months of a certificate of occupancy, HousingWire reported ^[1].
• Quinn Residences CEO Richard Ross said building and stabilizing a community usually takes about 30 months ^[1].

But the carve-out may not be enough. AMH warned in its filing that the ROAD Act and similar proposals have already hurt its access to capital markets and the appeal of its securities to some investors ^[2]. Amherst CEO Sean Dobson said returns on new projects were thin even before the ban was floated ^[1]. "The market's still trying to find itself," Invitation Homes CEO Dallas Tanner said on his company's Oct. 29 earnings call ^[1].

What it means for you

By our math, the gap between Treasury's 18-month window and the roughly 30 months Ross says a community needs is about a year, the period when a buyer could be shut out ^[1]. If you build or sell rental homes, that timing decides who can buy your project. AMH added 77 newly built homes in October at a cost of about $31.3 million, or roughly $406,500 per home by our math, showing the biggest players are still building for themselves ^[2].

Zoom out

Fewer rental homes under construction today means fewer new rentals in two or three years. AMH also flagged state and local proposals that would restrict corporate ownership of single-family rentals ^[2].