Housing commissioner to seek report on private equity purchases of single-family homes

Commissioner Alex Farrell of the Department of Housing and Community Development told the House Committee on General & Housing on April 14 that his agency will prepare a report examining private equity firms purchasing single-family homes and what measures other states and the federal government have taken.

Farrell said he had consulted with committee leadership and several representatives about language to insert into S.328, an omnibus housing bill, that would request the department produce the study. "I'm happy to undertake this," Farrell said, adding a caution about capacity: "my department is understaffed at the moment and will be shrinking later this year as a result of limited-service positions expiring. That said, we're still happy to take this on ... and work to continue on this over the summer."

The request is intended to map how other jurisdictions and federal policy approach private equity purchases of single-family housing and to assess what scaling similar approaches to Vermont would require. Farrell said the department would look into "what other states are doing, what the federal government is doing, and what, scaling this to Vermont would look like." The committee did not complete a formal vote or adopt any final language during the meeting.

Representative Emily thanked Farrell for the department's willingness to pursue the work, saying she was "very grateful for your sphere of collaboration" and that she looked forward to seeing how the findings come out.

The committee paused its meeting to go to the legislative floor and announced it would return at 1 p.m. to continue consideration of S.328 and additional agenda items.