Preemption of Real Property Discrimination Act

Overview

• Name: Preemption of Real Property Discrimination Act
• Bill number: H.R. 7053 (119th Congress, 2nd Session)
• Purpose: To preempt state, district of Columbia, and territorial laws that prohibit or restrict real estate purchases by foreign citizens, and to establish enforcement and private rights of action.

What the bill does

• Preemption of discriminatory purchase restrictions:
  • Any state, D.C., or U.S. territory law that prohibits or restricts the purchase of real property by individuals based on the purchaser’s citizenship is preempted. In other words, such laws would be invalid to the extent they discriminate by citizenship when purchasing real estate within that jurisdiction.
• Enforcement:
  • The U.S. Attorney General is authorized to enforce the preemption.
• Private right of action:
  • Individuals harmed by enforcement of preempted laws can sue the state, district, or territory in a federal court with competent jurisdiction.
  • If a plaintiff wins, the court may award injunctive relief (i.e., a court order directing the affected jurisdiction to stop enforcing the discriminatory provision or to take corrective action).

Who is affected

• Governments and jurisdictions:
  • States, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories that have or would enact laws restricting real estate purchases based on citizenship.
• Individuals:
  • Foreign citizens or other purchasers who would be subject to such discriminatory restrictions and who suffer harm as a result.
• Federal government:
  • Receives authority to enforce the preemption through the Department of Justice (Attorney General).

Key provisions and details

• Section 2(a): Prohibition on state-level discrimination
  • Prohibits any law that restricts real property purchases based on the citizenship of the purchaser.
• Section 2(b): Enforcement mechanism
  • Grants the Attorney General the authority to enforce the preemption.
• Section 2(c): Private right of action
  • Allows individuals harmed by enforcement of preempted laws to file civil actions in federal court.
  • Remedies include injunctive relief for prevailing plaintiffs.
• Effective date and scope:
  • The bill text provided does not specify a particular effective date; it would preempt existing or future discriminatory laws as defined by its broad language.

Procedural/status notes

• Introduced: January 14, 2026
• Sponsors/co-sponsors: Primary sponsor Rep. Al Green (Texas) with notable co-sponsors including Reps. Judy Chu, Grace Meng, Lizzie Fletcher, Ted Lieu, and Juan Vargas.
• Referral: Committee on the Judiciary

Potential impacts and considerations

• Market and property transactions:
  • If enacted, discrimination prohibiting foreign-citizen-based restrictions in real estate would be struck down, potentially increasing flexibility for foreign buyers in jurisdictions that had restricted purchases.
• Legal landscape:
  • Establishes a federal preemption framework for anti-foreign-citizens real estate restrictions and creates a private right of action, increasing avenues for challenge and redress against discriminatory state or territorial policies.
• Policy considerations:
  • Could raise debates about national consistency in property ownership rules, immigration-related policy, and local/state sovereignty over land use and sales regulations.

If you’d like, I can compare this bill to existing federal non-discrimination or preemption provisions, or map which states or territories currently have (or have proposed) citizenship-based real estate restrictions.