HOME Act of 2025

Bill Summary: HOME Act of 2025 (HR 3214)

Overview

The Housing Oversight and Mitigating Exploitation (HOME) Act of 2025 is a comprehensive legislative proposal designed to curb price gouging, prevent market manipulation, and increase transparency in the United States residential housing market. The bill primarily focuses on protecting renters and homebuyers from "unconscionable" price increases during housing crises and limiting the influence of large institutional investors on single-family homes.

Key Provisions

1. Anti-Price Gouging Measures

The bill empowers the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to declare an "affordable housing crisis period." During such a period:
* Prohibition: It becomes unlawful to rent or sell single-family housing (1–4 units) at "unconscionably excessive" prices that exploit the crisis.
* Determination Factors: The Secretary will determine a crisis based on mortgage interest rates, median home prices, median household income, and emergency/disaster declarations.
* Duration: These prohibitions last for 30-day increments and can be renewed.
* Defenses: Sellers or landlords can defend price increases if they reasonably reflect additional costs or risks incurred.

2. Market Oversight and Enforcement

The Act establishes a new Housing Monitoring and Enforcement Unit within HUD to:
* Track rental and sale data to identify market manipulation and unfair competition.
* Investigate "anomalous market trends" and the impact of real estate mergers and acquisitions.
* Institutional Investor Thresholds: HUD must investigate if a single purchaser buys more than 5% of available single-family housing in a market area over 3 years, or if institutional investors collectively buy more than 25% in 1 year.

3. Consumer Protections and Reporting

• Screening Practices: HUD, the FTC, and the CFPB will jointly investigate unfair tenant screening practices, including the use of algorithms and background checks that prevent access to housing.
• Anti-Competitive Review: The Attorney General and the FTC must conduct a joint review of anti-competitive behaviors (such as information sharing among landlords) and report findings to Congress.
• Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac: The Director is tasked with creating standards for mortgages on multifamily rental housing to ensure basic renter protections and prevent egregious rent hikes.

4. Enforcement and Funding

• Authority: HUD is granted enforcement powers similar to those of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
• State Role: State Attorneys General may bring civil actions to enjoin violations and obtain damages for residents.
• Funding: Any penalties collected from violators will be deposited into the Housing Trust Fund to support extremely low-income and homeless families.
• Appropriations: $1,000,000 is authorized for HUD to conduct initial investigations into housing price manipulation.

Who is Affected?

• Institutional Investors & Developers: Subject to stricter monitoring and potential investigations if they acquire excessive market shares.
• Landlords and Home Sellers: Prohibited from aggressive price hikes during declared housing crises.
• Renters and Homebuyers: Provided with new federal protections against price gouging and unfair screening processes.
• State Governments: Granted additional legal avenues to pursue housing price exploitation on behalf of their residents.

Timeline and Procedural Status

• Introduced: May 6, 2025.
• Current Status: Referred to the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on the Judiciary.
• Reporting Requirement: HUD must submit a report on housing price manipulation to Congress within 270 days of the Act's enactment.