Bill
HB 1010
Prohibits entities with 100+ rental single-family homes in qualifying counties from buying more homes for non-residential use, aiming to protect owner-occupied supply.
Status & Procedural info
- Title: Home Ownership Market Manipulation
- Introductory date: Nov 12, 2024
- Current status (per provided info): Passed 1st Reading
- Effective rule in bill text: takes effect when enacted and applies to purchases of real estate on or after that date.
Purpose
- The bill declares that large-scale purchases of single‑family homes by business entities can reduce owner‑occupied supply and inflate prices. It states a legislative intent to “narrowly” limit such activity to protect broad access to owner‑occupied housing and preserve wealth‑building opportunities from homeownership.
Key provisions
- New Article added to Chapter 75 (consumer protection) establishing “Housing Market Manipulation.”
- Definitions:
- “Person” covers business entities (corporations, LLCs, partnerships, fiduciaries, etc.) but excludes governmental entities.
- “Affiliate” covers entities that wholly/substantially own, are owned by, or are under common ownership with another non‑individual.
- “Qualifying county” = county with population > 150,000 (most recent decennial census).
- “Single‑family home” = detached/semi‑detached or row/townhome separated by ground‑to‑roof wall, not sharing HVAC/utilities, with no units above/below.
- Ownership limit (impermissible ownership quotas):
- It is unlawful for a person — including that person’s affiliates — to purchase a single‑family home in a qualifying county for a purpose other than the purchaser’s own residence if the person (including affiliates) already owns 100 or more single‑family homes in qualifying counties that are used primarily for rental purposes.
- Enforcement and remedies:
- The Attorney General may adopt rules, investigate, bring civil actions, and enter assurances of discontinuance under the State’s consumer protection chapter.
- Private enforcement: an aggrieved person or the county board of commissioners may sue in superior court.
- Civil penalties: up to $100 per day for each home acquired in violation.
- Remedies available to prevailing plaintiffs: equitable relief, damages, costs and fees (including reasonable attorneys’ fees), and exemplary damages equal to $50,000 or three times total damages/costs/fees (whichever is greater).
- Prevailing defendants may recover fees/costs if the suit was not well grounded or was filed for improper purposes.
- Joinder rules: courts must allow joinder of affiliates to ensure accurate accounting of total holdings; courts may hold joined parties jointly and severally liable where appropriate.
Who would be affected
- Primary targets: institutional investors, corporate home‑buyers, investment funds, large single‑family‑rental companies and their affiliates that acquire large portfolios of single‑family homes in larger counties.
- Indirectly affected: local housing markets (supply/pricing), prospective homebuyers, tenants in single‑family rentals, property managers, and legal/compliance counsel advising such entities.
- Individuals (natural persons) are not directly targeted by the entity/affiliate definition but could be affected if acting through business entities.
Potential impacts and considerations
- Intended effect: slow the institutional accumulation of single‑family homes in more populous counties to preserve supply for owner‑occupants and moderate price pressure.
- Likely consequences: changes to investment strategies (limits on acquisitions or reorganization to avoid aggregation), increased compliance and legal risk for large investors, potential uptick in litigation to test scope/definitions (e.g., what counts as “used primarily for rental purposes,” affiliate structures, and retroactivity).
- Enforcement burden: AG’s office and courts will have to track ownership across affiliates and counties; counties and private plaintiffs may become active enforcers.
- Possible circumvention risks: investors may restructure ownership or target smaller counties (population ≤150,000) or housing types not covered by the single‑family definition.
Timing / Application
- The bill text states it applies to purchases of real estate on or after the law’s effective date (i.e., no retroactive application to prior purchases).
Notes
- The bill emphasizes narrow tailoring, but litigable issues (definitions of “primarily for rental purposes,” affiliate attribution, and enforcement mechanics) are likely to arise in implementation.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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