Housing affordability is one of the defining challenges of this decade. Home prices and mortgage rates remain elevated, putting homeownership out of reach for many renters who want to buy but cannot yet meet the down payment or credit requirements for a mortgage.

We explored this challenge in depth in [_Housing Affordability and Arrived_](https://arrived.com/blog/housing-affordability-and-arrived), where we argued that meaningful progress requires two things at the same time: more housing supply and more ways for people to participate in the wealth-building potential of real estate.

That is why we are encouraged to see Congress pass the [21st Century ROAD to Housing Act](https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48732), a bipartisan housing package focused on improving affordability.

## Where we stand on the bill

We are largely supportive of the legislation. It includes many measures we believe can help expand supply and improve affordability over time, including streamlining permitting, reducing regulatory friction, and creating incentives to build more homes. Those are the kinds of structural changes that can ease pressure on prices and rents.

The bill also sets new rules for large institutional investors, with thoughtful exceptions for programs designed to move renters toward ownership. We think that is the right instinct. The most durable progress happens when the way homes are owned and financed is aligned with helping more people eventually own one.

As we evaluated the legislation, we saw an opportunity to build a program that not only aligns with the bill’s homeownership-focused provisions, but also advances a goal we’ve long believed in: helping more residents move from renting to owning. The result is the Arrived Homeownership Program.

## The Arrived Home Ownership Program

This is not a new direction for Arrived. It builds on our Down Payment Assistance Program and a belief that has shaped our platform from the beginning: a rental home can be more than a place to live today. It can also be a potential path to ownership tomorrow.

The [Arrived Home Ownership Program](https://arrived.com/home-ownership-program) gives residents a clearer way to move from renting to owning, while helping investors support a more aligned, resident-centered ownership model. The program includes five key benefits:

1. **Fair rent, with no ownership-path premium.** Residents do not pay more to participate. Arrived keeps resident fees in line with comparable Arrived homes, so joining the program does not add cost to the path to ownership.
2. **Credit building through on-time rent payments.** Residents who opt in can have their rent payments reported to the major credit bureaus. That means the payments they already make each month can help build the credit profile they may need to qualify for a future mortgage. Participation is completely optional.
3. **A first opportunity to buy the home they rent.** If an eligible Arrived rental home is offered for sale, the resident receives a right of first refusal and a 60-day first-look window before the home is marketed more broadly.
4. **1% toward a future purchase.** When a resident buys the Arrived home they rent, or another Arrived home available for sale while they are renting with Arrived, we contribute 1% of the purchase price toward their purchase through price concessions or closing credits. On a $400,000 home, that equals $4,000.
5. **Flexible redemptions for Arrived investors.** Residents who also invest on Arrived receive additional flexibility when they are ready to buy. If they sell eligible Arrived fund shares in connection with their home purchase, Arrived waives the applicable redemption fees.

## Why this matters

Real estate has long been one of the most reliable ways households build wealth, but the on-ramp keeps getting steeper. The Arrived Homeownership Program is designed to lower several of those barriers at once by keeping rent fair, helping residents build credit, and providing financial support toward a future purchase.

It is also designed to create better alignment between residents and investors. By supporting longer-term resident relationships and giving eligible residents a clearer path to purchase, the program can strengthen the connection between residents of Arrived homes and the investors who own their shares.

No single program can solve housing affordability on its own. But this is a concrete step toward expanding participation in real estate ownership while building a more resident-centered model that can benefit both residents and investors.

We are encouraged by the direction of housing policy and intend to keep building toward greater access, stronger alignment, and more pathways to ownership.

## Interested?

Whether you’re an Arrived resident or an investor thinking about your own path to homeownership, [learn more about the Arrived Home Ownership Program](https://arrived.com/home-ownership-program) to see how it works, who’s eligible, and what’s included.

## Frequently asked questions

How does the Home Ownership Program benefit Arrived investors?

Does the Home Ownership Program change how Arrived manages its rental homes?

Will the new housing legislation affect Arrived’s business?

### Webinar: Investing In Arrived

Ryan Frazier, Arrived CEO, and Cameron Wu, VP of Investments, will be hosting webinars to talk about how to get started with rental property investing. Sessions are held on Tuesdays at 9am PST each week (unless otherwise posted).