2025 -- S 0489
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LC001380
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S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025
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A N A C T
RELATING TO PROPERTY -- CAPACITY TO HOLD REAL ESTATE
Introduced By: Senators Kallman, Britto, Mack, Bell, and Gu
Date Introduced: February 26, 2025
Referred To: Senate Housing & Municipal Government
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter 34-2 of the General Laws entitled "Capacity to Hold Real Estate" is 1
hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 2
34-2-2. Ownership of single-family dwelling, and certain multi-family dwellings by 3
entities that are not individuals. 4
(a) As used in this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings: 5
(1) “Multi-family dwelling” means a residential property containing two (2) to four (4) 6
dwelling units. 7
(2) “Single-family dwelling” means a residential property containing no more than a single 8
dwelling unit. 9
(b) If a legal entity that is not an individual possesses, controls, or otherwise claims legal 10
title to assets in real property whose aggregate value exceeds twenty-five million dollars 11
($25,000,000), then such an entity shall be prohibited from owning single-family dwellings, or 12
multi-family dwellings. For the purposes of this section, legal entities owned by the same 13
individual, or group of individuals shall be considered a single entity for the purposes of calculating 14
the aggregate value of real property. 15
(c) Legal entities that possess, control, or otherwise claim legal title to assets in real 16
property whose aggregate value exceeds twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) prior to the 17
effective date of this section, shall divest from assets consisting of single-family dwellings, and/or 18
multi-family dwellings over a period of ten (10) years, until the total aggregate value held by such 19
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an entity is less than or equal to twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000). 1
(d) Applicable entities affected by this section shall divest from single-family dwellings, 2
and/or multi-family dwellings according to the following schedule: 3
(1) In the first full taxable year beginning after the effective date of this section, entities 4
that possess, control, or otherwise claim legal title to single-family dwellings, or multi-family 5
dwellings shall divest from their holdings in these dwellings by ten percent (10%) of the aggregate 6
total over twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) as of the effective date of this section. 7
(2) In the second full taxable year beginning after the effective date of this section, entities 8
that possess, control, or otherwise claim legal title to single-family dwellings, or multi-family 9
dwellings shall divest from their holdings in these dwellings by twenty percent (20%) of the 10
aggregate total over twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) as of the effective date of this 11
section. 12
(3) In the third full taxable year beginning after the effective date of this section, entities 13
that possess, control, or otherwise claim legal title to single-family dwellings, or multi-family 14
dwellings shall divest from their holdings in these dwellings by thirty percent (30%) of the 15
aggregate total over twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) as of the effective date of this 16
section. 17
(4) In the fourth full taxable year beginning after the effective date of this section, entities 18
that possess, control, or otherwise claim legal title to single-family dwellings, or multi-family 19
dwellings shall divest from their holdings in these dwellings by forty percent (40%) of the aggregate 20
total over twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) as of the effective date of this section. 21
(5) In the fifth full taxable year beginning after the effective date of this section, entities 22
that possess, control, or otherwise claim legal title to single-family dwellings, or multi-family 23
dwellings shall divest from their holdings in these dwellings by fifty percent (50%) of the aggregate 24
total over twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) as of the effective date of this section. 25
(6) In the sixth full taxable year beginning after the effective date of this section, entities 26
that possess, control, or otherwise claim legal title to single-family dwellings, or multi-family 27
dwellings shall divest from their holdings in these dwellings by sixty percent (60%) of the aggregate 28
total over twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) as of the effective date of this section. 29
(7) In the seventh full taxable year beginning after the effective date of this section, entities 30
that possess, control, or otherwise claim legal title to single-family dwellings, or multi-family 31
dwellings shall divest from their holdings in these dwellings by seventy percent (70%) of the 32
aggregate total over twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) as of the effective date of this 33
section. 34
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(8) In the eighth full taxable year beginning after the effective date of this section, entities 1
that possess, control, or otherwise claim legal title to single-family dwellings, or multi-family 2
dwellings shall divest from their holdings in these dwellings by eighty percent (80%) of the 3
aggregate total over twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) as of the effective date of this 4
section. 5
(9) In the ninth full taxable year beginning after the effective date of this section, entities 6
that possess, control, or otherwise claim legal title to single-family dwellings, or multi-family 7
dwellings shall divest from their holdings in these dwellings by ninety percent (90%) of the 8
aggregate total over twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) as of the effective date of this 9
section. 10
(10) In the tenth full taxable year beginning after the effective date of this section, entities 11
that possess, control, or otherwise claim legal title to single-family dwellings, or multi-family 12
dwellings shall divest from their holdings in these dwellings by one hundred percent (100%) of the 13
aggregate total over twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) as of the effective date of this 14
section. 15
(e) The value of single-family homes and multi-family homes for the purposes of 16
calculating an entity’s aggregate total value shall be equal to the assessed value of the property used 17
for the purposes of determining municipal real estate tax, as published by the entity pursuant to § 18
34-18-58(a)(7). 19
(f) Beginning January 1, 2027 and each year thereafter, the maximum allowable aggregate 20
total of real property as established in subsection (b) of this section, shall be adjusted for inflation 21
using the most recent Consumer Price Index (CPI) report as published by the United States Bureau 22
of Labor and Statistics. 23
(g) Should the aggregate total value of real property held by an entity exceed twenty-five 24
million dollars ($25,000,000) due to increased valuation of said property, then the entity shall have 25
one year from the date of reevaluation to divest such real property that causes the aggregate total 26
valuation to exceed twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000). 27
(g) Entities found in violation of this section after a hearing pursuant to chapter 35 of title 28
42 (“administrative procedures”) shall be subjected to fines up to, but not exceeding, ten thousand 29
dollars ($10,000) for each violation. The secretary of the department of housing shall be responsible 30
for enforcing the provisions of this section by promulgating rules and regulations necessary to 31
implement the provisions of this section. 32
SECTION 2. Section 34-18-58 of the General Laws in Chapter 34-18 entitled "Residential 33
Landlord and Tenant Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: 34
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34-18-58. Statewide mandatory rental registry. 1
(a) All landlords shall register the following information with the department of health: 2
(1) Names of individual landlords or any business entity responsible for leasing to a tenant 3
under this chapter; 4
(2) An active business address, PO box, or home address; 5
(3) An active email address; 6
(4) An active telephone number that would reasonably facilitate communications with the 7
tenant of each dwelling unit; 8
(5) Any property manager, management company, or agent for service of the property, 9
along with the business address, PO box, or home address of the property manager, management 10
company, or agent and including: 11
(i) An active email address; and 12
(ii) An active telephone number, for each such person or legal entity, if applicable, for each 13
dwelling unit; and 14
(6) Information necessary to identify each dwelling unit; and 15
(7) The assessed value of each property as used for the purposes of calculating municipal 16
property taxes as well as the aggregate value of all properties owned by the individual landlords or 17
any business entity. 18
(b) All landlords who lease a residential property constructed prior to 1978 and that is not 19
exempt from the requirements of chapter 128.1 of title 42 (“lead hazard mitigation”) shall, in 20
addition to the requirements of subsection (a) of this section, for each dwelling unit, provide the 21
department of health with a valid certificate of conformance in accordance with chapter 128.1 of 22
title 42 (“lead hazard mitigation”) and regulations derived therefrom, or evidence sufficient to 23
demonstrate that they are exempt from the requirement to obtain a certificate of conformance. 24
(c) Contingent upon available funding, the department of health, or designee, shall create 25
a publicly accessible online database containing the information obtained in accordance with 26
subsections (a) and (b) of this section, no later than nine (9) months following the effective date of 27
this section [June 20, 2023]. 28
(d) All landlords subject to the requirements of subsections (a) and (b) of this section as of 29
September 1, 2024, shall register the information required by those subsections no later than 30
October 1, 2024. 31
A landlord who acquires a rental property, or begins leasing a rental property to a new 32
tenant, after September 1, 2024, shall register the information required by subsections (a) and (b) 33
of this section within thirty (30) days after the acquisition or lease to a tenant, whichever date is 34
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earlier. All landlords subject to the requirements of subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall, 1
following initial registration, re-register by October 1 of each year in order to update any 2
information required to comply with subsections (a) and (b) of this section, or to confirm that the 3
information already supplied remains accurate. 4
(e) Any person or entity subject to subsections (a) and (b) of this section who fails to 5
comply with the registration provision in subsection (d) of this section, shall be subject to a civil 6
fine of at least fifty dollars ($50.00) per month for failure to register the information required by 7
subsection (a) of this section, or at least one hundred and twenty-five dollars ($125) per month, for 8
failure to register the information required by subsection (b) of this section. 9
(f) All civil penalties imposed pursuant to subsection (e) of this section shall be payable to 10
the department of health. There is to be established a restricted receipt account to be known as the 11
“rental registry account” which shall be a separate account within the department of health. 12
Penalties received by the department pursuant to the terms of this section shall be deposited into 13
the account. Monies deposited into the account shall be transferred to the department of health and 14
shall be expended for the purpose of administering the provisions of this section or lead hazard 15
mitigation, abatement, enforcement, or poisoning prevention. No penalties shall be levied under 16
this section prior to October 1, 2024. 17
(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 34-18-35, a landlord or any agent of a landlord 18
may not commence an action to evict for nonpayment of rent in any court of competent jurisdiction, 19
unless, at the time the action is commenced, the landlord is in compliance with the requirements of 20
subsections (a), (b), and (d) of this section. A landlord must present the court with evidence of 21
compliance with subsections (a), (b), and (d) of this section at the time of filing an action to evict 22
for nonpayment of rent in order to proceed with the civil action. 23
(h) The department of health may commence an action for injunctive relief and additional 24
civil penalties of up to fifty dollars ($50.00) per violation against any landlord who repeatedly fails 25
to comply with subsection (a) of this section. The attorney general may commence an action for 26
injunctive relief and additional civil penalties of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) per violation 27
against any landlord who repeatedly fails to comply with subsection (b) of this section. Any 28
penalties obtained pursuant to this subsection shall be used for the purposes of lead hazard 29
mitigation, abatement, enforcement, or poisoning prevention, or for the purpose of administering 30
the provisions of this section. No penalties shall be levied under this section prior to October 1, 31
2024. 32
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1
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2026. 2
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO PROPERTY -- CAPACITY TO HOLD REAL ESTATE
***
This act would preclude any legal entity from possessing, controlling or otherwise claiming 1
legal title to real property exceeding an aggregate value of twenty-five million dollars 2
($25,000,000) in single-family dwellings or multi-family dwellings. Any legal entity that 3
possesses, controls or otherwise claims legal title to real property exceeding an aggregate value of 4
twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) in single-family dwellings or multi-family dwellings, 5
would be forced to divest a graduated yearly amount from assets consisting of single-family 6
dwellings or multi-family dwellings over the next ten (10) years, until the total aggregate value 7
held by that legal entity is less than or equal to twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000). 8
This act would take effect on January 1, 2026. 9
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LC001380
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