Trump Signs Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Act of 2025

WASHINGTON, May 12, 2026 — President Trump signed Public Law 119-88, the Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Act of 2025, into law on May 12.

The statute affects roughly 1.1 million American Indians and Alaska Natives living on federally recognized tribal trust lands, according to U.S. Census figures for reservation populations. It targets land held in trust by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which covers more than 56 million acres across 326 reservations.

Prior to the law, trust status prevented banks from securing mortgages against the land because the federal government retained ultimate title. The new statute authorizes tribal governments to lease or designate specific parcels for residential use and allows lenders to perfect security interests in improvements on that land without removing the underlying trust status.

The changes apply to mortgages originated on or after the date of enactment.

Downstream, the Department of Housing and Urban Development must update its Title I and Section 184 loan guarantee programs within 180 days to reflect the new collateral rules. Lenders can now originate conventional and FHA-insured loans on qualifying parcels, which triggers Bureau of Indian Affairs approval processes for leasehold interests.

Tribal courts and the Bureau of Indian Affairs face new administrative workloads to record and enforce mortgage documents. Secondary-market purchasers such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac gain authority to purchase the resulting loans once HUD issues implementing guidance.

This statute follows repeated congressional attempts to address reservation housing shortages. Congress passed the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act in 1996 and reauthorized it multiple times, yet trust-land mortgage origination remained near zero because of title issues.

The new law builds on 2012 amendments to the Indian Land Consolidation Act but goes further by creating a uniform federal framework for mortgageability.

No roll-call vote totals appear in the enrolled bill text released by govinfo.gov.