Bill ends tax breaks and housing benefits for Wall Street, corporate landlords and reinvests the savings into building new housing and helping Americans achieve homeownership
WILMINGTON, Del.–U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and 16 other Democratic senators introduced the American Homeownership Act to get housing back into the hands of the American people. The bill would end tax breaks and other housing benefits for Wall Street landlords and reinvest the savings to increase the supply of affordable housing, bring down housing costs, and support homeownership for real people. The bill will also empower antitrust enforcers to prevent the kind of corporate buy-ups that squeeze out families trying to buy their own homes or afford their rent.
“We can’t leave any stone unturned in our efforts to solve the nation’s affordable housing crisis, and I’m willing to work with my colleagues on any proposal to lower the cost of putting a roof over your head,”said Senator Coons. “Institutional investors who are buying up seas of homes make it harder for regular Delawareans to buy a home and build the security that comes with putting down roots in your community. Ending tax breaks for Wall Street investors will make homeownership more affordable and accessible to hard-working Americans.”
In addition to Senators Coons, Warren, and Merkley, the American Homeownership Act is also co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.).
The American Homeownership Act is endorsed by the American Economic Liberties Project, the American Federation of Teachers, Americans for Financial Reform, the Communications Workers of America, Consumer Action, Grounded Solutions Network, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), the National Housing Law Project, the National Low Income Housing Coalition, and the Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP).
“Our government has the resources to ensure that everyone has a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home. But Wall Street investors have bought up neighborhoods of single-family homes, apartment buildings, and manufactured housing communities. They extract profit at the expense of poor and working families by hiking rents, tacking on hidden fees, neglecting repairs, pursuing baseless evictions, and ignoring tenant concerns. Families should be in control of their homes, not faceless corporate landlords. Senator Warren’s American Homeownership Act is a first-of-its-kind effort, taking on corporate ownership of multifamily developments to shift power back to tenants and provide affordable opportunities for first-time homeowners. We’re committed to fighting alongside Sen. Warren to combat the corporate takeover of our housing system and beyond,” said Shamus Roller, Executive Director of the National Housing Law Project.
“The Private Equity Stakeholder Project is proud to endorse Senator Warren’s vital legislation,” said Chris Noble, Policy Director at PESP.“For too long, Wall Street landlords have been able to have their cake and eat it too: enjoying lucrative tax breaks for buying up rental properties then raking in profits by hiking rents and imposing junk fees on hard-working American tenants. The federal government shouldn’t be giving handouts to Wall Street landlords or bailing out private equity firms while Americans everywhere struggle to pay rent. The American Homeownership Act is an essential step toward preventing private equity and other corporate landlords from profiting from the housing affordability crisis.”
“The American Homeownership Act seeks to limit the role speculative investment plays in shaping housing opportunity in this country,” said Renee Willis, President and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.“This legislation is an important step toward ensuring that housing serves people, not speculative profit, and that people with the lowest incomes can secure quality, accessible, and affordable homes in communities of their choice. I applaud Senator Warren’s and her co-sponsors’ leadership in putting forth legislation to establish a level playing field where low-income families aren’t overpowered by large investors with short-term goals.”
“Grounded Solutions Network greatly appreciates Ranking Member Warren’s leadership in working to address the impact of large institutional investors on our housing market. Private equity firms and others often outmaneuver and outbid first-time homebuyers and the nonprofits seeking to keep housing affordable. This bill will make housing less profitable for these institutions and rebalance tax priorities to increase funding for more stable and affordable housing for American families. In particular, we look forward to working with Senator Warren to leverage the bill’s recognition of housing initiatives that ensure lasting affordability,” said Doug Ryan, VP of Housing Policy, Grounded Solutions Network.
“Wall Street shouldn’t be outbidding families for the keys to their own homes,” said NCRC President and CEO Jesse Van Tol.“This bill puts that money back into building affordable housing and helping first-time buyers. Let’s help people own homes, not investors.”
“In the midst of a severe housing affordability crisis, the government wastes billions in taxpayer dollars subsidizing rich Wall Street landlords instead of boosting housing supply. This bill strips out those tax breaks, redirects the savings to building affordable housing, and gives antitrust enforcers better tools to prevent market concentration before it becomes entrenched,” said Laurel Kilgour, Research Manager at the American Economic Liberties Project. “Congress should send this legislation to the President’s desk, and he must sign it immediately.”
“This legislation gets at the heart of the problem—lack of access to affordable homes,” says Ruth Susswein, Director of Consumer Protection at Consumer Action. “This bill will tax those corporate investors who’ve been devouring the single-family housing market and turn those tax dollars into sorely needed new housing to help make owning a home achievable again.”
“As record numbers of U.S. families struggle to pay the rent and young people are increasingly locked out of homeownership, we must take action and prioritize homes for families to live in rather than as profit engines for billionaire investors. The American Homeownership Act would strip lucrative tax breaks and other benefits from private equity and Wall Street landlords, and keep new properties out of their hands,” said Caroline Nagy, Associate Director of Housing Policy at Americans for Financial Reform.
You can view the bill text here.