Republicans in the House are attempting to stop a bipartisan effort to rein in private equity’s ownership of single family housing. In March, the Senate passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act with the support of many Republican and all Democratic senators (save one). The bill included a provision which would require large investors who own more than 350 single-family or duplex homes to sell those properties after seven years.
The private equity lobby seems to have identified a way around this quagmire. A new report from Politico revealed the House GOP’s modifications to weaken the bill. The first change narrows the definition of single-family home, “which could make it possible for private equity firms and other large companies to purchase more homes than the previous version allowed.” The second change eliminates the provision requiring institutional investors to sell their single family homes to individual home buyers after seven years.
Any House Democrats contemplating a compromise should think twice about consecrating this union of House Republican and Wall Street interests. The provisions included in the Senate-passed version speak to the public’s desire for real checks on institutional investors. Recent polling from Groundwork Collaborative found that 64% of Americans say “the way to lower housing costs is to rein in corporate landlords and institutional investors,” and a majority of Americans hold that view across party lines. ROAD sponsor Tim Scott gave a presentation to his caucus showing that swing voters favor Senate candidates who support stopping private equity from buying single-family homes.
It’s up to House Democrats, particularly House Financial Services Committee ranking member Maxine Waters, to take up the fight against private equity in housing by refusing to compromise on the ROAD Act. Waters has a long record of challenging Wall Street and other predatory actors, and this is another such fight worthy of her support. The polling – and the recognition of that public opinion by even the Trump Administration – gives her an unusually strong hand to play, despite being in the minority.
Waters can lead her caucus with the confidence that they can overcome private equity’s play, as Americans of all political stripes are seeking politicians who will fight hard against rapacious and deeply unpopular bad actors. Indeed, Americans care more about who will fight for them than whether relationships within Congress are collegial.