S.Amdt. 4343

SA 4343. Mr. WARNOCK submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by him to the bill H.R. 6644, a bill to increase the supply of housing
in America, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the
table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

[[Page S889]]

SEC. __. HOMES ARE FOR PEOPLE, NOT CORPORATIONS.

(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Consumer reporting agency.--The term ``consumer
reporting agency'' has the meaning given the term in section
603 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a)).
(2) Excepted purchase.--The term ``excepted purchase''
means any purchase of a single-family home that is--
(A) newly constructed, renovated, or a rental conversion
for sale by a large institutional investor and not as a
residence rented pending sale;
(B) pursuant to a build-to-rent program where the large
institutional investor purchases newly constructed single-
family homes to be managed as rental properties, whether as
communities exclusively of renter-occupied single-family
homes or as communities of single-family homes that are both
owner- and renter-occupied;
(C) pursuant to a renovate-to-rent program that--
(i) substantially rehabilitates single-family homes that do
not meet structural or core system elements of local building
codes; and
(ii) makes improvements in an aggregate dollar amount of
not less than 15 percent of the purchase price of the single-
family home;
(D) pursuant to a homeownership program that--
(i) requires rental payments and any other fees that are
not greater than those collected by the large institutional
investor on other similarly situated single-family homes not
covered by the eligible homeownership program;
(ii) is subject to a contract between the large
institutional investor and renter that shall be considered a
consumer credit transaction secured by a dwelling or real
property;
(iii) provides for positive reporting of rental payments to
consumer reporting agencies for any renter, who shall be
informed of and opts into such reporting; and
(iv) requires contribution of meaningful financial support
from the large institutional investor, including price
concessions, for the purchase of the single-family home by
the renter;
(E) pursuant to a program to boost homeownership that--
(i) provides for positive reporting of rental payments to
consumer reporting agencies for any renter who is informed of
and opts into such reporting;
(ii) provides for the right of first refusal and a 30-day
``first look'' period; and
(iii) may entail the meaningful financial support from the
large institutional investor, including price concessions,
for the purchase of a single-family home by the renter
(whether it is the home the renter occupies or another home);
(F) in connection with the satisfaction of debts previously
contracted in good faith and where the large institutional
investor has the right to repossess the single-family home
under such contract;
(G) undertaken by a mortgage servicer, lender, or other
entity that has a legal right to a single-family home, for
the purpose of loss mitigation or compliance with servicing
or investor obligations, and not as a long-term investment
strategy, and is solely as a result of--
(i) a foreclosure;
(ii) a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure;
(iii) enforcement of a mortgage, deed of trust, or other
security interest; or
(iv) operation of law following borrower default;
(H) purchased from another large institutional investor
that either owned the single-family home on the date of
enactment of this Act or purchased the single-family home in
compliance with this section;
(I) purchased from an investor not covered under this
section, so long as the purchase occurred not more than 2
years after the effective date under subsection (f);
(J) newly constructed, renovated, or a rental conversion
that is intended and operated for occupancy as part of a
community for households with 1 or more members aged 55 years
or older, and satisfies visitability standards established by
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; or
(K) purchased through a single purchase or combination or
series of purchases described in subparagraphs (A) through
(J).
(3) Single-family home.--The term ``single-family home''--
(A) means a structure that contains 2 or fewer dwelling
units that are each intended for residential occupancy by a
single household; and
(B) does not include a manufactured home, as defined in
section 603 of the National Manufactured Housing Construction
and Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5403).
(4) Large institutional investor.--
(A) In general.--The term ``large institutional
investor''--
(i) means an investment fund, corporation, general or
limited partnership, limited liability company, joint
venture, association, or other for-profit entity that is a
legal entity structured in a manner that is not
aforementioned that--

(I) is engaged, in whole or in part, in the business of
investing in, owning, renting, managing, or holding single-
family homes; and
(II) alone or in concert with 1 or more other entities,
beginning after the date of enactment of this Act, directly
or indirectly has investment control of not less than 350
single-family homes in the aggregate, not including any
single-family home purchased in an excepted purchase made
after the date of enactment of this Act; and

(ii) does not include any local, State, Tribal, or Federal
government entity or instrumentality thereof.
(B) Rule of construction.--For purposes of this paragraph,
an entity has direct or indirect investment control over a
single-family home if the entity--
(i) owns, or has primary authority or fiduciary
responsibility to make material investment or management
decisions relating to, the single-family home;
(ii) is, or directly or indirectly controls, the general
partner or managing member of the entity that owns the
single-family home;
(iii) is or controls the investment manager, management
company, or investment advisor of the entity that owns the
single-family home;
(iv) owns or controls more than 25 percent of any class of
equity interests of the entity that owns the single-family
home, unless such entity is a passive investor; or
(v) otherwise controls the entity that owns the single-
family home.
(5) Purchase.--The term ``purchase'' includes any purchase,
transfer, or other acquisition of a single family home,
including through mergers, acquisitions, construction,
foreclosures, or bulk purchases, whether or not for cash
consideration.
(b) Prohibition on Purchases by Large Institutional
Investors.--
(1) In general.--No large institutional investor may
purchase, or enter into a contract to directly or indirectly
purchase, any single-family home.
(2) Exceptions.--The prohibition under paragraph (1) shall
not apply to--
(A) any excepted purchase; or
(B) any purchase of a single-family home in connection with
a restructuring or other reorganization of ownership of
single-family homes that were owned or purchased on or before
the date of enactment of this Act.
(3) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section may be
construed to--
(A) require any large institutional investor to divest or
otherwise sell any single-family home purchased before the
date of enactment of this Act; or
(B) prevent the filing of a petition, or otherwise affect
any bankruptcy proceeding, under title 11, United States
Code.
(4) Implementation.--
(A) In general.--In consultation with the Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development, the Director of Federal
Housing Finance Agency, and the Chair of the Securities and
Exchange Commission, the Secretary of the Treasury may issue
regulations in accordance with the notice and comment
rulemaking procedures under section 553 of title 5, United
States Code, to carry out the purposes of this section,
including regulations to--
(i) minimize market disruptions upon identifying a risk of
material negative impact on the housing market, including an
impact on the ability of market participants to dispose of
single-family homes in an orderly fashion;
(ii) mitigate, to the extent possible, negative impacts on
consumers and communities; and
(iii) further clarify the application of the terms ``large
institutional investor'', ``single-family home'', and
``excepted purchase'', if the Secretary of the Treasury
determines that such regulations will advance the
availability of single-family homes for purchase by
individual households.
(B) Rule of construction.--For the avoidance of doubt, no
regulation issued under subparagraph (A) may amend the
definitions of the terms defined under subsection (a),
including to--
(i) alter the scope of excepted purchases in a manner that
would undermine the goal of expanding the number of single-
family homes available to individual households for purchase;
(ii) alter any type of excepted purchase in a manner that
would undermine the goal of expanding the number of single-
family homes available to individual households for purchase;
(iii) add any category of large institutional investor as
an eligible class if not determined by this section; or
(iv) alter the quantitative threshold in the definition of
``large institutional investor''.
(c) Disposal of Homes Under Excepted Purchases.--
(1) Requirement to dispose.--
(A) In general.--With respect to the purchase by a large
institutional investor of a single-family home described in
subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of subsection (a)(2), or with
respect to the purchase by a large institutional investor of
a single-family home described in subparagraph (J) of
subsection (a)(2) that ceases to meet the requirements of
such subparagraph, the large institutional investor shall
dispose of the single-family home to an individual homebuyer
not later than 7 years after the date of purchase.
(B) Subsequent purchase.--For the avoidance of doubt, any
purchase of a single-family home described in subparagraph
(A), (B), (C), or (J) of subsection (a)(2) shall remain
subject to the terms of this section notwithstanding a
subsequent purchase by a large institutional investor
pursuant to another subparagraph of subsection (a)(2).
(2) Application.--
(A) Paragraph (1) shall not apply in the case of any large
institutional investor which is a real estate investment
trust if the

[[Page S890]]

disposal of such property would be a prohibited transaction
that would lead to a 100 percent tax under the statute
governing such types of entities.
(B) In the case of a large institutional investor that has
an active leasing contract with the renter of a single-family
home described in paragraph (1) that went into effect not
later than 6 months before the date of disposal under that
paragraph, nothing in that paragraph shall be construed to
require the large institutional investor to dispose of the
single-family home subject to this subsection until the date
on which such contract expires.
(3) Requirements for disposal.--
(A) Renter accommodations.--In the case of a renter
described in paragraph (2)(B)--
(i) the large institutional investor may provide the renter
with the option to renew the active leasing contract in such
subsection, except that the aggregate leasing period of
renewals shall not exceed 36 consecutive months;
(ii) the large institutional investor shall confirm whether
the renter opts to renew the leasing contract, within the
limitations of clause (i), through a written attestation; and
(iii) the large institutional investor shall advertise the
home pursuant to subparagraph (C) beginning on the earlier
of--

(I) the date on which the renter declines to renew the
leasing contract; or
(II) the date on which the leasing contract expires.

(B) Renter option to purchase.--Before the large
institutional investor disposes of a single-family home
described in paragraph (1), the renter of the single-family
home described in paragraph (2)(B) shall have the right of
first refusal and a 30-day ``first look'' period to purchase
the single-family home.
(C) Advertisement of property.--
(i) In general.--On the date that a renter described in
paragraph (2)(B) declines to renew an active leasing contract
with a large institutional investor under subparagraph (A),
or declines a single-family home under subparagraph (B), the
single-family home shall be--

(I) widely advertised and free to access, and listed in
publications, which may include internet platforms or a
national Multiple Listing Service, by the large institutional
investor; and
(II) made broadly accessible to individual homebuyers and
the general public, including any licensed real estate agents
representing potential buyers.

(ii) Compliance.--If a single-family home described in
paragraph (1) is not purchased, or no offer to purchase is
made, by an individual homebuyer within 60 days of the date
on which the single-family home is advertised under clause
(i), the large institutional investor shall be considered to
be in compliance with the disposal requirements under
paragraph (1).
(D) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this paragraph shall
be construed to require a renter to renew a lease or to
affect State or local tenant-landlord laws regarding
requirements related to lease renewal processes or leasing
periods.
(d) Enforcement.--
(1) Civil penalties.--Any large institutional investor that
violates subsection (b) or paragraph (1) or (2)(B) of
subsection (c) shall be subject to a civil penalty of not
more than $1,000,000 per violation, or 3 times the purchase
price of the property involved, whichever is greater,
enforced by the Secretary of the Treasury.
(2) Transfer to hud for homeownership expansion
activities.--For fiscal year 2027 and each fiscal year
thereafter, to the extent and in the amounts provided in
advance in appropriations Acts, civil penalties assessed
under this section shall be transferred to and available to
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide
additional funding for the HOME Investment Partnerships
program under subtitle A of title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez
National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12741 et seq.), to
be allocated in accordance with the formula under that
program, for new construction, acquisition, and
rehabilitation of single-family homes and to provide
assistance grants to first-time homebuyers, which may be for
downpayments, closing costs, and interest rate buydowns.
(e) Studies on Large Institutional Investors.--
(1) GAO report.--Not later than 2 years after the date on
which the prohibition under subsection (b)(1) takes effect,
and again not later than 10 years after that date, the
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the
Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and
the House Committee on Financial Services a report on--
(A) the impact of the ownership by large institutional
investors of single-family homes on housing availability and
affordability for renters and homebuyers; and
(B) the effectiveness of this section in reducing demand by
large institutional investors for single-family homes and
expanding homeownership for renters and homebuyers.
(2) HUD report.--Not later than 2 years after the date on
which the prohibition under subsection (b)(1) takes effect,
and again not later than 10 years after that date, the
Secretary of the Housing and Urban Development, in
consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the
Administrator of the Rural Housing Service, the Executive
Director of the Loan Guaranty Service of the Department of
Veterans Affairs, the Chair of Securities and Exchange
Commission, and the Director of the Federal Housing Finance
Agency, shall submit to the Committee on Banking, Housing and
Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial
Services of the House of Representatives a report on--
(A) whether there should be adjustments to the definition
of the term ``large institutional investor'';
(B) the financial impact of this section on large
institutional investors, renters, and homebuyers; and
(C) any legislative recommendations regarding ways to
improve the authorities provided under this section to
increase the supply and affordability of single-family homes
for purchase by individual homebuyers.
(3) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(A) this section is intended to expand the number of
single-family homes available to individuals for purchase and
is aimed at preserving and expanding the supply of single-
family homes available to individuals; and
(B) any further study on the effectiveness of this section
and any legislative recommendations therefrom should consider
this sense of Congress.
(f) Effective Date.--The requirements and prohibitions
under subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this section--
(1) shall take effect on the date that is 180 days after
the date of enactment of this Act; and
(2) are repealed on the date that is 15 years after the
effective date under paragraph (1).

______