Stop Wall Street Landlords Act: New Bill Hits $100M Investors with 100% Sales Tax and Ends Key Housing Deductions

If you’ve tried to buy a home lately, you know it feels like you’re competing against a literal mountain of cash. This bill takes aim at the 'mountain' by targeting 'specified large investors'—entities with over $100 million in assets. It essentially tries to make owning single-family homes (1-4 units) a financial nightmare for giant corporations. Starting 18 months after the bill passes, these massive investors would lose the ability to deduct mortgage interest, insurance premiums, and depreciation on their taxes for these properties. In the business world, those deductions are the bread and butter of making a profit, so cutting them off is a massive hit to the bottom line for corporate landlords.

The 100% Exit Tax

Perhaps the most aggressive part of this bill is a new excise tax on sales. If a large investor sells a single-family home, the tax is equal to the full sale price of the home. Yes, you read that right: a 100% tax on the sale. The goal is clearly to stop these entities from flipping houses or treating neighborhoods like a stock portfolio. The money collected from these taxes wouldn't just vanish; it’s earmarked for the Housing Trust Fund to build and preserve rental housing for extremely low-income families and people experiencing homelessness. However, a tax this high is a double-edged sword. While it discourages corporate buying, it could also 'lock' these companies into their current holdings because selling becomes financially impossible, potentially keeping that housing stock off the market for regular buyers.

Cutting the Cord on Federal Financing

The bill also tells Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae—the engines behind the American mortgage market—to stop helping these big players. Under Section 5, these government-backed entities would be prohibited from purchasing, lending on, or securitizing mortgages where the borrower is one of these $100 million investors. Imagine a local contractor trying to get a loan versus a massive hedge fund; this bill effectively kicks the hedge fund out of the government-backed loan line, forcing them to find much more expensive private financing. It’s a move designed to level the playing field for individual families who rely on those same federal programs to get a mortgage.

Who Gets a Pass and What’s at Risk

There are a few important 'outs' in the fine print. The rules don’t apply if the investor is an individual using the home as their primary residence, or if they actually built or substantially renovated the house themselves. This is a nod to developers who add to the housing supply rather than just buying up what’s already there. The big question for the rest of us is how this shifts the rental market. If you’re renting from a giant corporation, there’s a risk they might try to pass these new costs—like the lost insurance and interest deductions—down to you in the form of higher rent. While the bill aims to help the little guy by cooling off corporate competition, the transition period could be a bumpy ride for anyone currently living in a corporate-owned rental.