Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Act of 2025

This bill, the Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Act of 2025, sets strict timelines for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to handle home and business loan paperwork and right-of-way documents on Indian land, with faster notices and clearer communication for borrowers and lenders . BIA must notify lenders when it receives a package, do a quick check within 10 days, tell lenders within 2 days if something is missing, and then approve or deny within 20 days for leasehold mortgages and 30 days for land mortgages or right-of-way documents, with written reasons if denied . Title status reports must be finished within 10 days after approval or within 14 days after a request for the first report; BIA must send notices by secure email and mail and deliver reports directly to lenders and the federal agency backing the loan . If a deadline is missed, BIA must immediately inform the applicant and lender and answer update requests within 2 days. Tribes and federal agencies get read‑only access to BIA’s land records system (TAAMS) to speed things up, and BIA must file a yearly report on how many requests were handled and why any were late, while protecting personal information . A Government Accountability Office report will study the need and cost to digitize records to make lending faster, and a new Realty Ombudsman at BIA will track deadlines, work with other agencies, and help tribes, tribal members, and lenders resolve problems .

Key points

• Who is affected: Tribal members and tribes seeking home or business loans on Indian land, lenders, and federal housing lenders like USDA, HUD, and VA, along with BIA offices.
• What changes: Clear deadlines (10-day review; 20-day approval for leasehold; 30-day for land mortgages and rights-of-way), faster title status reports (10 days after approval or 14 days after request), required delay notices, direct delivery of reports, read‑only TAAMS access, an annual public report, a GAO study on digitizing records, and a Realty Ombudsman to troubleshoot and coordinate .
• When: Deadlines apply after enactment as packages are received; TAAMS read‑only access begins on the date of enactment; the GAO report is due within one year; BIA’s annual report is due by March 1 each year .