“A bill to protect consumers from price gouging of residential rental and sale prices, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section defines key terms for purposes of the Act, including (1) affordable housing crisis period as the period during which the prohibition under section 3(a)(1) applies in the United States; (2) Secretary as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; (3) single-family housing as a residence consisting of 1 to 4 dwelling units, excluding any dwelling unit in a condominium or cooperative housing project; and (4) United States as including the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and any territory or possession of the United States.
This section prohibits any person from renting a dwelling unit or selling single-family housing at unconscionably excessive prices that exploit an affordable housing crisis during a period (up to 30 consecutive days, renewable, and up to 1 week beforehand) declared by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) via Federal Register notice, considering factors such as mortgage interest rates, Federal funds rate, median rents and home prices, median household income, and major disaster or emergency declarations under the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. 5170, 5191). In determining violations, HUD considers whether prices grossly exceed prior 30-day benchmarks or comparable units (aggravating) or whether the person increased available units post-determination (mitigating, adjusted for seasonal demand); provides an affirmative defense for prices reasonably reflecting additional costs, anticipated costs, or risks; excludes futures market transactions; and requires advance notice. HUD enforces violations as under the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.), with equivalent powers; state attorneys general may also bring civil actions in federal court for injunctions, compliance, penalties, damages, or restitution after notice to HUD (immediate if infeasible).
This section directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to investigate whether prices for rental housing units or single-family home sales are manipulated through reduced housing capacity, other market manipulation, or price gouging—including consideration of mergers and acquisitions involving real estate developers, managers, owners, and investors. Not later than 270 days after enactment, the Secretary must submit a report to Congress containing (1) a long-term strategy for HUD and Congress to address such manipulation in rental and single-family housing markets, utilizing data on race, gender, and socioeconomic status, and (2) a description and analysis of non-occupant investors' impact on underserved communities. The section exempts information collection for the investigation from the Paperwork Reduction Act and authorizes $1 million for FY2024.
This section establishes the Housing Monitoring and Enforcement Unit within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The Unit's primary responsibility is to assist the Secretary in protecting the public interest by continuously collecting, monitoring, and analyzing data on rental housing markets, single-family home sales markets, and investor-owned non-owner-occupied housing units to (1) support transparent and competitive market practices; (2) identify market manipulation, including through analysis of race, gender, and socioeconomic status data, false reporting, consumer-disadvantaging use of market power, or other unfair competition; and (3) facilitate enforcement of penalties against violators. To carry out these duties, the Unit must (A) receive, compile, and analyze buying and selling activity to identify anomalous trends and suspicious behavior; (B) assess whether excessive concentration or exclusive control of housing-related infrastructure enables anti-competitive behaviors; and (C) secure data-sharing agreements with state and local jurisdictions, housing agencies, and public and private sources on institutional investor housing purchases.
This section directs the Secretary to monitor purchases of single-family housing in each U.S. housing market area and to investigate (1) any single purchaser, including institutional investors, acquiring more than 5% of such housing made available for sale in any market area over a 3-year period, or (2) large institutional investors in aggregate acquiring more than 25% over a 1-year period, to determine purposes and circumstances including price gouging, market manipulation, and unfair practices driving homeowners out of the market.
This section directs the Secretary, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection to jointly (1) carry out a program to collect information identifying rental housing screening practices that unfairly prevent applicants and tenants from accessing or remaining in housing—including background checks, algorithmic tenant screenings, adverse action notices by landlords and property managers, and use of tenant income source information—and (2) submit an annual report to Congress describing the collected information.
This section directs the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to issue regulations, after notice and a public hearing, establishing standards and criteria for purchases by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac of multifamily rental housing mortgages to ensure basic renter protections and prevent egregious rent increases. (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are government-sponsored enterprises that purchase mortgages to provide liquidity to the housing finance market.)
This section directs the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission to jointly conduct a review of anti-competitive behaviors, including information sharing, in the single-family housing and residential rental markets and to submit a report to Congress on the findings within one year of enactment.