Horsford Reintroduces Legislation To Addresses Inflated Housing Costs Facing Many Americans & Nevadans
Introduction Comes as Horsford joins Housing & Oversight Subcommittees in Financial Services Committee
WASHINGTON – RealEstateRama – Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04), reintroduced legislation in response to the housing crisis affecting many major metropolitan areas, including Las Vegas. The Housing Oversight and Mitigating Exploitation (HOME) Act of 2023, H.R. 702, 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. Recently, large institutional speculators purchased more homes in America’s top metropolitan areas than in the last twenty years. On average, non-occupant speculators 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 becomes increasingly unaffordable for everyday Americans.
“In 2021, the 4th Congressional District in Nevada saw 17% of the homes purchased being bought by private corporate speculators. 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 in greater numbers. The HOME Act will empower the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary to investigate these corporations and take action to keep families in their homes.”
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 protect consumers from market manipulation by empowering the Department of Housing and Urban Development to investigate these purchases. 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 housing emergency at an unreasonable price.
• Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to investigate whether prices are being manipulated by artificially reducing housing capacity or through other price gouging practices.
• Empowers the Secretary of HUD to monitor home purchases within housing markets across the country to investigate.
• Authorizes the Federal Trade Commission, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, and the Secretary of HUD to collect and analyze data on the housing market.
• Limits investments from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to organizations that have either violated renter protections or have been found to have raised the rent by egregious rates in the past.
Congressman Horsford was recently appointed to the Housing Subcommittee and the Oversight Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee.
“Through my new subcommittee assignments, I plan to investigate many of the practices that are artificially causing the cost of housing to go up for renters and homeowners alike. We need to ensure that the American dream is accessible to all Nevadans and all Americans and that we preserve the ability for working families to keep a roof over their heads,” added Congressman Horsford.
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