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Senate committee backs limit on large corporate purchases of single‑family homes in many counties
Summary
Senator Oliver’s bill would cap purchases by entities to 100 single‑family homes (applying affiliate aggregation) in counties with more than 150,000 residents and exempts affordable‑housing projects; the committee adopted the amendment and advanced the bill after enforcement and federal‑policy questions.
The State and Local Government Committee advanced legislation aiming to reduce institutional buying of single‑family homes in larger counties.
Sponsor Senator Oliver described SB 2‑42 as an effort to help homeowners compete with large investment firms by limiting entities from purchasing additional single‑family homes above a 100‑unit cap and by aggregating ownership across affiliates to close common workarounds. "So what the bill does, it limits, entities from purchasing additional single family homes above 100," he said; the bill exempts purchases that are part of bona fide affordable housing projects and applies to counties with population greater than 150,000.
Members questioned enforcement and whether entities could use shell companies to evade caps; the sponsor said the bill defines 'affiliate' and includes enforcement mechanisms. Committee members also discussed overlap with a recent presidential executive order addressing similar concerns tied to federal financing and asked whether state action should await federal implementation. The sponsor said the bill predates that executive order and that a state law would provide more durable authority than an executive order that could be rescinded.
After discussion the committee adopted the amendment and passed the bill for the calendar (vote showed 7 ayes, 1 pass). Finance and other committees will consider implementation and enforcement specifics going forward.
