Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock joined together on Tuesday, July 13 in the city’s Adamsville neighborhood to mark the passage of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.
The bipartisan legislation, which became law without the president’s signature, includes a key provision led by Warnock aimed at curbing the growing influence of institutional investors and private equity firms in the residential housing market.
The measure seeks to address concerns about large-scale property acquisitions that can limit access to affordable homeownership for everyday buyers.
“They are picking houses the way you pick tomatoes at the grocery store. For you it’s a house, for them it’s just something else they’re throwing into their portfolio,” Sen. Warnock said While speaking in the Adamsville neighborhood of Atlanta alongside Mayor Andre Dickens, Warnock said.
More specifically, the Senator’s provision would ban large corporations that own more than 350 single-family homes from purchasing any additional single-family homes.
Currently 25% of Atlanta’s single-family rental market is owned by large corporations that own more than 1,000 homes. This legislation would impose a fine of the greater of either $1 million or three times the purchase price on any corporate investor that purchases a single-family home above the cap. Any fines collected under this legislation will be used for new housing construction and financial assistance for first-time homebuyers, building on the Senator’s leadership to support first-time homebuyers.
The legislation enacts the following rules to curb corporate home buying:
- The 350-Home Cap: Corporate investors and private equity firms that already own more than 350 single-family homes are banned from purchasing any additional single-family properties.
- The Penalty: Institutional investors who violate the cap face a fine of up to \\$1 million per violation, or three times the purchase price of the home, whichever is greater. [1]
- Forward-Looking Enforcement: The law is not retroactive; corporations are not forced to sell off the thousands of homes they already own, but it is designed to halt further bulk purchasing. [1, 2]
- Reinvestment: Any fines collected by the federal government under this provision will be used to fund new housing construction and offer down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers. [1]
Senator Warnock introduced this specific ban after studies identified Atlanta as the epicenter of corporate-owned housing, with private equity firms owning roughly 25% of the single-family rental market in the city. Mayor Dickens endorsed and helped tout the measure, stating it complements local city efforts to create affordable, equitable housing.
