Horsford Legislation Addresses Inflated Housing Costs Faced by Many Nevadans, Americans

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04), introduced legislation in response to the housing crisis affecting many major metropolitan areas, including Las Vegas. The Housing Oversight and Mitigating Exploitation (HOME) Act of 2022 addresses a trend that is creating artificial hikes in rents and property costs across the country, specifically in underserved communities, affecting Black and Latino families the most, and hurting single mothers trying to provide for their children. Last year, large institutional investors purchased more homes in America’s top metropolitan areas than in the last twenty years. On average, non-occupant investors bought nearly one in seven homes, and in specific housing markets that number rises to one in four.  As rental rates rise across the country, housing is becoming increasingly unaffordable for everyday Americans.

“In the 4^th Congressional District in Nevada, we saw 17% of the homes purchased last year being bought by private investors. Companies with no interest or connection to these communities are then raising rents to levels to price out the hard-working families that have lived in these areas for generations,” said Congressman Horsford. “This is a national trend that the data shows is targeting communities of color and hurting single mothers at greater numbers. The HOME Act will empower the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary to investigate these corporations and take action to keep families in their homes.”

In Nevada’s 4^th Congressional District alone, the following zip-codes saw large amounts of homes purchased by private investors:

This legislation creates institutional oversight in the housing market to ensure transparency and fair competition for Americans hoping to purchase or remain in their home. The Housing Oversight and Mitigating Exploitation Act will ensure that consumers are protected from market manipulation by empowering the Department of Housing and Urban Development. And, any fines collected under this legislation would be deposited into the National Housing Trust Fund, which is used to increase and preserve affordable housing for low-income families.

Specifically, the Housing Oversight and Mitigating Exploitation Act does the following: 

• Makes it illegal for any person to rent or sell a dwelling unit during a period of a housing emergency at an unreasonable price.
  • The President shall be able to declare a housing emergency so no person can increase either rental rates or home prices to unreasonable levels or further exploit the circumstances.
• Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to conduct an investigation to determine if prices are being manipulated by artificially reducing housing capacity or through other price gouging practices.
  • Requires a report to Congress no later than 270 days after the passage of this act including a long-term strategy to address manipulation in the housing market, and an analysis of how non-occupant investors in the housing market impact underserved and minority communities.
• Empowers the Secretary of HUD to monitor home purchases within housing markets across the country to investigate:
  • Institutional investors that have individually purchased more than 5 percent of the single-family housing made available for sale in any market over 3 years
  • If, in aggregate, institutional investors have purchased more than 25 percent of the single-family housing made available for sale in any market over a 1-year period.

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