HOME Act of 2025: Proposed Price Controls During Housing Crises, New HUD Unit to Investigate Market Manipulation

The Housing Oversight and Mitigating Exploitation Act of 2025, or HOME Act, proposes a significant federal intervention into housing markets. At its core, the bill empowers the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to declare an "affordable housing crisis period" nationwide, triggering a prohibition on "unconscionable pricing" for rentals and single-family homes for up to 30 days at a time, with potential renewals. This declaration would be based on factors like mortgage rates, median incomes, and even major disaster declarations under the Stafford Act. The bill also mandates new investigations into housing market manipulation and establishes a dedicated HUD unit to monitor housing costs and practices.

Price Freeze? How the HOME Act Plans to Tackle Sky-High Housing Costs

So, what does "unconscionable pricing" actually mean under this bill? We're talking about preventing property owners from implementing what Section 3 calls "excessive and exploitative" price hikes on rental units and single-family homes (those with 1-4 units, not condos or co-ops) once a crisis is declared. The Secretary of HUD would make this crisis determination, considering things like soaring mortgage rates, stagnant incomes relative to housing prices, or widespread damage from a natural disaster. If you're a landlord, this could mean you can't suddenly double the rent. If you're selling a house, you might face limits on how much you can inflate the price during these 30-day crisis periods. The bill does say that price increases reflecting genuine additional costs or risks for the property owner could be an "affirmative defense." Enforcement would be handled by HUD, similar to how the Federal Trade Commission operates under the Federal Trade Commission Act, and State Attorneys General could also bring civil actions. Any penalties collected would go into the Housing Trust Fund, which supports affordable rental housing for very low-income families, as established under the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992. While the goal is to protect consumers, the specifics of what constitutes "excessive" and the process for renewing these 30-day caps will be crucial to watch, as they grant considerable discretion to the Secretary.

Putting the Market Under the Microscope: New Watchdogs and Investigations

Beyond temporary price controls, the HOME Act wants to dig into why housing is so expensive. Section 4 directs HUD to investigate if rental and home prices are being manipulated through tactics like deliberately reducing housing supply or good old-fashioned price gouging. This investigation, which gets a $1 million budget for fiscal year 2025 and an exemption from the Paperwork Reduction Act (meaning HUD can gather info more quickly), will also look at the impact of big real estate mergers and how non-occupant investors affect underserved communities, using data on race, gender, and socioeconomic status. To back this up, Section 5 establishes a new "Housing Monitoring and Enforcement Unit" within HUD. Think of it as a data-driven neighborhood watch for the entire housing market. This unit will continuously collect and analyze data on rentals, home sales, and investor-owned properties to spot market manipulation and enforce housing laws. Furthermore, Section 6 requires HUD to specifically monitor and investigate "excessive housing purchases." If a single buyer, including large institutional investors, snaps up more than 5% of available single-family homes in an area over three years, or if big investors collectively buy over 25% in one year, an investigation kicks off to see if it involves price gouging or practices that push out regular homeowners. The terms "excessive buying" and "unfair investment practices" aren't sharply defined in the bill, which could make these investigations complex.

Beyond the Rent Check: Fairer Screening and Keeping Big Players in Line

It's not just about the final price. The HOME Act also targets how people get into housing in the first place. Section 7 tasks HUD, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB) with creating a program to identify unfair tenant screening practices. This means looking at how background checks are used, the algorithms deciding who gets an apartment, the notices landlords send when they reject someone, and how a tenant's source of income is considered. If you've ever felt an application process was a black box, this aims to bring more transparency. For renters in larger buildings, Section 8 directs the regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to set standards for the mortgages these giants buy on multifamily rental housing. The goal is to ensure basic renter protections and prevent "extreme rent increases" in properties they back. Finally, Section 9 calls on the Attorney General and the FTC to conduct a broad review of anti-competitive behaviors in both single-family and rental markets, including shady information sharing, and report back to Congress within a year. This collection of measures aims to create a more level playing field, from the application process to the overall market dynamics.