HR3214-119

What This Bill Does

The HOME Act is a broad housing-market enforcement bill. If HUD determines in the Federal Register that the United States is experiencing an affordable housing crisis, it becomes unlawful for a person to rent a dwelling or sell single-family housing at an unconscionably excessive price that exploits crisis conditions. HUD evaluates mortgage rates, the federal funds rate, refinance rates, median rent, median sale price, median household income, and disaster or emergency declarations; the prohibition can run for renewable 30-day periods and start up to one week before a foreseeable crisis. HUD enforces the rule with FTC Act-style powers, state attorneys general can sue with notice to HUD, penalties go to the Housing Trust Fund, and landlords or sellers can raise an affirmative defense for increased costs or risks. The bill also requires a HUD investigation of rental and single-family price manipulation, creates a Housing Monitoring and Enforcement Unit for market data and investor-owned housing analysis, directs HUD, FTC, and CFPB tenant-screening reports, requires FHFA renter-protection standards for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac multifamily mortgage purchases, and orders DOJ and FTC to review anti-competitive behavior in housing markets.

Who Benefits and How

Renters benefit because HUD could attack crisis-period rents that grossly exceed prior or comparable market prices. Homebuyers benefit because the same price-gouging framework applies to single-family housing sales during an affordable housing crisis. Low-income families benefit because civil penalties deposited in the Housing Trust Fund can support extremely low-income and very low-income rental housing. State attorneys general benefit from federal authority to sue for injunctions, civil penalties, damages, restitution, and other compensation for residents.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Landlords must avoid unconscionably excessive crisis-period rents unless increases reflect actual added costs or risks. Single-family home sellers must avoid exploitative sale prices during a HUD-declared affordable housing crisis. Institutional housing investors face HUD data collection, market-manipulation review, concentration scrutiny, and DOJ/FTC competition review. HUD enforcement staff must issue crisis determinations, investigate price manipulation, run the monitoring unit, coordinate data sharing, and enforce penalties.

Key Provisions

• Prohibits unconscionably excessive rental and single-family sale prices during HUD-declared affordable housing crises.
• Creates HUD enforcement, state attorney general civil actions, affirmative defenses, and Housing Trust Fund deposits for penalties.
• Establishes a Housing Monitoring and Enforcement Unit to analyze rental, sale, investor-owned, and non-owner-occupied housing data.
• Requires tenant-screening oversight, FHFA multifamily renter-protection standards, and DOJ/FTC review of anti-competitive housing behavior.