- News
Changes to federal law concerning purchases of single-family homes by large institutional investors
- Authors: Adrianna L. Giuliani
On July 11, 2026, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act became federal law. The Act aims to increase affordable housing by expanding available financing, streamlining review processes for federal housing programs, and establishing grant programs for entities to plan and implement strategies to increase housing across the country. While most of the Act's provisions take affirmative actions to increase affordable housing, Title 10 limits the purchase activity of large institutional investors in an effort to increase individual home ownership rates.
Who is Covered?
Title 10 defines a large institutional investor, in relevant part, as a legal entity that is engaged in the “business of investing in, owning, renting, managing, or holding single-family homes; and . . . [acting] alone or in concert with 1 or more entities. . . directly or indirectly has investment control of not less than 350 single-family homes in the aggregate.”
What Does Title 10 Prohibit?
Title 10 prohibits large institutional investors from directly or indirectly purchasing or contracting to purchase a single family home.
Exceptions
Title 10 provides many exceptions to the broad purchase prohibition, including purchases by institutional investors of single-family homes that are:
- newly constructed, renovated, or a rental conversions for sale by a large institutional investor;
- a part of a build-to-rent program, renovate-to-rent program, or a program intended to boost home ownership;
- a result of repossession by an institutional investor to satisfy debts resulting from a valid contract;
- acquired by an institutional investor for loss mitigation purposes as a result of foreclosure proceedings, a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, the enforcement of a security interest, or borrower default;
- purchased from another large institutional investor that acquired the home in compliance with the Act;
- purchased prior to January 7, 2029 from an entity that is not a large institutional investor; and
- newly constructed, renovated, or a rental conversion that will be operated as a community in which one or more members will be above 55 years old.
What are the Effects of Title 10?
Beginning on January 7, 2029, large institutional investors will be unable to purchase single-family homes to rent or otherwise invest in the homes in a way that provides no benefits to the renter and no opportunity for that renter to obtain home ownership, unless the dwellings are newly constructed and either purchased from another institutional investor or purchased with the intent to create a rental community. The prohibition does not affect build-to-rent programs in which a large institutional investor purchases or constructs new homes for the purposes of creating a rental community, nor does it require large institutional investors to divest their interest in or sell any single family homes they currently own. The Title includes a 15-year sunset provision, at which point Congress will need to renew the provision in order for it to remain in effect.
If you have any questions regarding compliance with the Act, Kramon & Graham is happy to assist. The full text of the Act can be found here.