Bipartisan, bicameral legislation led by U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-SD) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) and U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) to prioritize and streamline mortgage-related processes within the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) became law on May 4 with the president’s signature.
The Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Act, S. 723/H.R. 2130, aims to accelerate the BIA’s review and processing of mortgages on trust land.
“For years, affordable housing opportunities on tribal trust land have been hard to come by in South Dakota and across the nation due in part to the BIA’s challenging mortgage approval process,” said Sen. Thune, who sponsored S. 723 in February 2025 alongside Sen. Rounds and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN).
“With the enactment of our legislation, this mortgage approval process will now be expedited, encouraging homeownership across Indian Country,” he added. “I’m grateful to Sen. Mike Rounds and Congressman Dusty Johnson for co-leading this bill with me, and I thank President Trump for signing it into law.”
Specifically, the new law sets requirements for processing a proposed residential leasehold mortgage, business leasehold mortgage, land mortgage, or right-of-way document by the BIA, which must notify lenders upon receipt of such documentation, perform a preliminary review of such documents not later than 10 days after receipt, and approve or disapprove of such documents within 20 or 30 days, depending on the type of application.
“The process of getting a mortgage on tribal trust land is long and bureaucratic, requiring approval from the BIA that is supposed to take 30 days but often takes over one year,” Sen. Rounds said. “This legislation will require the BIA to follow a statutory timeline when processing mortgages for houses and businesses on tribal trust land. This is a long-overdue win for tribal communities in South Dakota.”
Additionally, the law sets requirements for the BIA regarding response times for the completion of certified title status reports, notification of delays in processing, and the form of notices and delivery of certain reports, among other provisions.
“Buying a home or business on tribal trust land is about to get a whole lot easier,” said Rep. Johnson, who sponsored H.R. 2130 in March 2025. “Big thanks to Leader John Thune and Sen. Mike Rounds for their efforts to support tribal communities by cutting through government bureaucracy at the BIA.”