To modify the premerger notification requirements under the Clayton Act with respect to certain acquisitions of residential property, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMs. Klobuchar (for herself, Mr. Brown, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Merkley, …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Housing Acquisitions Review and Transparency Act (HART Act) requires large-scale buyers of residential properties to notify federal regulators before completing their purchases. Currently, the Clayton Act requires "premerger notification" for large corporate acquisitions, but real estate transactions have been largely exempt. This bill closes that loophole by treating all residential property purchases by the same buyer in a calendar year as a single acquisition for reporting purposes, triggering federal antitrust review when they exceed certain thresholds.
Who Benefits and How
Homebuyers and renters benefit from increased transparency and regulatory oversight of institutional investors buying up housing. By requiring large investors to file notifications with the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice, regulators gain visibility into whether these acquisitions may violate antitrust laws or concentrate housing ownership in ways that harm consumers. Federal regulatory agencies (FTC and DOJ Antitrust Division) gain new authority to monitor and potentially block residential property acquisitions that may reduce competition in housing markets.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Large real estate investors, private equity firms, and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) face new compliance costs and regulatory hurdles. They must file notification paperwork with the FTC when their cumulative annual residential property purchases exceed thresholds, including detailed documentation about their acquisitions. This adds administrative burden, delays transactions during the review period, and potentially subjects some deals to antitrust challenges. Individual buyers purchasing property for personal use are explicitly exempted from these requirements.
Key Provisions
- Aggregates all residential property acquisitions by any person within a calendar year as a "single acquisition" for notification purposes
- Removes the real estate exemption from premerger notification requirements for residential and investment rental properties, including REITs
- Directs the FTC and DOJ to issue new rules specifying what documentation and information acquirers must submit
- Defines "residential property" broadly to include multifamily housing, condos, manufactured homes, and single-family homes (excluding hotels and short-term rentals)
- Preserves exemption for properties intended solely for personal use by an individual
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
This bill modifies premerger notification requirements under the Clayton Act for certain acquisitions of residential property, enhancing transparency and regulatory oversight.
Policy Domains
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_federal_trade_commission"
- → Federal Trade Commission
- "the_assistant_attorney_general"
- → Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A hotel, motel, inn, short-term rental, or other lodging that advertises at a nightly, hourly, or weekly rate.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
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