This bill aims to curb the influence of institutional and large investors in the residential housing market by amending the Internal Revenue Code. It proposes to deny tax deductions for interest paid and depreciation claimed on residential properties owned by institutional investment entities or large owners (those with 50 or more single-family dwelling units) holding a majority interest in such properties. However, the bill includes several exceptions to these deduction denials. These exceptions apply to properties sold to individuals for their principal residence or to qualified nonprofit organizations focused on affordable housing. Deductions are also permitted for new single-family and multi-family housing constructed by eligible taxpayers, for substantial rehabilitation of previously uninhabitable properties, and for existing affordable housing like Federally assisted housing or properties utilizing Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. Beyond tax changes, the legislation restricts federal agencies from facilitating large investor involvement in the housing market. It prohibits covered entities , such as HUD, VA, USDA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, from selling federally backed mortgage loans or residential properties to large owners or institutional investment entities . These agencies are also barred from issuing, insuring, guaranteeing, or securitizing mortgage loans for such investors, unless the loans are specifically for the construction or rehabilitation of housing with affordability use restrictions. The bill intends to reinvest the estimated savings from these new tax deduction limits into initiatives supporting housing supply and homeownership. Eighty percent of these savings would be directed to the HOME Investment Partnerships program, with a focus on acquiring, rehabilitating, preserving, and constructing affordable housing, particularly for extremely low-income households. The remaining twenty percent of savings would establish a fund for grants to qualified homebuyers —defined by income, first-time, and first-generation criteria—to assist with down payments, closing costs, and interest rate buydowns, up to $20,000 or 10% of the purchase price. Finally, the legislation strengthens antitrust monitoring for real property owners. It amends the Clayton Act to aggregate all residential property acquisitions by a single person within a calendar year for antitrust reporting, removing previous exemptions. The bill also establishes a presumption that an acquisition of residential property increasing a person's market share to more than 30 percent violates antitrust laws, aiming to prevent excessive market concentration in the housing sector.
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Timeline
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Taxation
American Homeownership Act
USA119th CongressS-3904| Senate
| Updated: 2/24/2026
This bill aims to curb the influence of institutional and large investors in the residential housing market by amending the Internal Revenue Code. It proposes to deny tax deductions for interest paid and depreciation claimed on residential properties owned by institutional investment entities or large owners (those with 50 or more single-family dwelling units) holding a majority interest in such properties. However, the bill includes several exceptions to these deduction denials. These exceptions apply to properties sold to individuals for their principal residence or to qualified nonprofit organizations focused on affordable housing. Deductions are also permitted for new single-family and multi-family housing constructed by eligible taxpayers, for substantial rehabilitation of previously uninhabitable properties, and for existing affordable housing like Federally assisted housing or properties utilizing Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. Beyond tax changes, the legislation restricts federal agencies from facilitating large investor involvement in the housing market. It prohibits covered entities , such as HUD, VA, USDA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, from selling federally backed mortgage loans or residential properties to large owners or institutional investment entities . These agencies are also barred from issuing, insuring, guaranteeing, or securitizing mortgage loans for such investors, unless the loans are specifically for the construction or rehabilitation of housing with affordability use restrictions. The bill intends to reinvest the estimated savings from these new tax deduction limits into initiatives supporting housing supply and homeownership. Eighty percent of these savings would be directed to the HOME Investment Partnerships program, with a focus on acquiring, rehabilitating, preserving, and constructing affordable housing, particularly for extremely low-income households. The remaining twenty percent of savings would establish a fund for grants to qualified homebuyers —defined by income, first-time, and first-generation criteria—to assist with down payments, closing costs, and interest rate buydowns, up to $20,000 or 10% of the purchase price. Finally, the legislation strengthens antitrust monitoring for real property owners. It amends the Clayton Act to aggregate all residential property acquisitions by a single person within a calendar year for antitrust reporting, removing previous exemptions. The bill also establishes a presumption that an acquisition of residential property increasing a person's market share to more than 30 percent violates antitrust laws, aiming to prevent excessive market concentration in the housing sector.