Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB443 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R1624 ATP-F
2	2	By: Hinojosa of Hidalgo S.B. No. 443
3	3
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5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to single-family homes held by corporate owners for rental
10	10	purposes; providing a civil penalty.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 86, Education Code, is
13	13	amended by adding Sections 86.531 and 86.532 to read as follows:
14	14	Sec. 86.531. ANNUAL STUDY AND REPORT ON SINGLE-FAMILY HOME
15	15	PURCHASES, RENTALS, AND SALES BY CERTAIN CORPORATE OWNERS. (a) In
16	16	this section, "corporate owner," "rental property," and
17	17	"single-family home" have the meanings assigned by Section 5.251,
18	18	Property Code.
19	19	(b) Using existing available data and deed records, the
20	20	center shall compile information related to corporate owners'
21	21	purchases, rentals, and sales of single-family homes in this state
22	22	for each calendar year. The information must include:
23	23	(1) the number of single-family homes each corporate
24	24	owner had an interest in during the calendar year;
25	25	(2) the number of single-family homes purchased by
26	26	each corporate owner during the calendar year and the total number
27	27	purchased in each county and municipality;
28	28	(3) the number of single-family homes described by
29	29	Subdivisions (1) and (2) acquired through foreclosure;
30	30	(4) the number of single-family homes described by
31	31	Subdivisions (1) and (2) sold by each corporate owner during the
32	32	calendar year;
33	33	(5) the number of single-family homes described by
34	34	Subdivisions (1) and (2) used as a rental property during the
35	35	calendar year;
36	36	(6) the municipality and county in which each
37	37	single-family home described by Subdivisions (1) and (2) is
38	38	located;
39	39	(7) the appraised value of each single-family home
40	40	described by Subdivisions (1) and (2);
41	41	(8) the name, assumed name, business association type,
42	42	registered office address, telephone number, and registered agent
43	43	of each corporate owner of a single-family home; and
44	44	(9) the name, address, and contact information for the
45	45	landlord or third-party lessor, sublessor, management company, or
46	46	managing agent of each single-family home described by Subdivision
47	47	(5).
48	48	(c) In addition to the information required by Subsection
49	49	(b), the center may compile additional information at the
50	50	recommendation of the legislature or that the center determines is
51	51	relevant based on market trends.
52	52	(d) Not later than June 1 of each year, the center shall
53	53	submit a report to the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house
54	54	of representatives, and each member of the legislature. The report
55	55	must contain:
56	56	(1) a summary of the information compiled under
57	57	Subsection (b) for the preceding calendar year;
58	58	(2) an assessment of any trends or patterns relating
59	59	to the relative number of purchases by corporate owners, including
60	60	whether the corporate owners fall into any readily observable
61	61	groups based on the number of purchases or other appropriate
62	62	criteria; and
63	63	(3) an analysis of:
64	64	(A) the impact of corporate owners on the cost of
65	65	housing; and
66	66	(B) the advantages and disadvantages, if any,
67	67	that corporate owners have over individual buyers in the real
68	68	estate market.
69	69	(e) After completing the initial report under this section,
70	70	the center may compile information from any calendar years
71	71	preceding 2025 to create and submit reports for those years that
72	72	include the information listed in Subsections (b) and (d).
73	73	Sec. 86.532. DATABASE OF CORPORATE OWNERS. (a) The center
74	74	shall create and maintain a statewide database that retains and
75	75	shows the cumulative information from each category described by
76	76	Section 86.531(b). The center shall make the database available in
77	77	a searchable format on its Internet website in a conspicuous
78	78	location.
79	79	(b) The center shall update information in the database each
80	80	month. The center shall enter into the database for access by the
81	81	public the updated information described by Section 86.531(b) not
82	82	later than the 30th business day after the date the center finds or
83	83	obtains the information.
84	84	(c) The center may consult with the appropriate agent of, or
85	85	other person representing, each corporate owner to obtain the
86	86	information necessary to operate and update the database.
87	87	(d) The center may consult with a state agency or political
88	88	subdivision to obtain assistance with collecting, aggregating, and
89	89	updating the data required by this section.
90	90	(e) The center may not charge a fee to the public to access
91	91	the database.
92	92	SECTION 2. Chapter 5, Property Code, is amended by adding
93	93	Subchapter H to read as follows:
94	94	SUBCHAPTER H. CORPORATE OWNERSHIP AND RENTAL OF SINGLE-FAMILY
95	95	HOMES
96	96	Sec. 5.251. DEFINITIONS. In this section:
97	97	(1) "Corporate owner" means a corporation, limited or
98	98	general partnership, limited liability company, business trust,
99	99	investment asset manager, real estate investment trust, joint
100	100	venture, joint stock company, or bank that holds an interest in
101	101	multiple single-family homes in this state that are offered or used
102	102	as a rental property to produce income directly or indirectly from a
103	103	residential tenant. The term includes an entity engaged in the
104	104	business of investing the pooled capital of investors in financial
105	105	securities.
106	106	(2) "Rental property" means real property used or
107	107	intended to be used:
108	108	(A) as a primary residence for 30 or more
109	109	consecutive days by a residential tenant under an oral or written
110	110	lease or rental agreement; or
111	111	(B) for occupancy for tourist or transient
112	112	accommodations for fewer than 30 consecutive days, where the
113	113	property does not serve as a residential tenant's primary
114	114	residence.
115	115	(3) "Residential tenant" means any person who does not
116	116	own but is authorized to use a single-family home in exchange for
117	117	consideration paid to a corporate owner or to a third-party lessor,
118	118	sublessor, management company, managing agent, or operator of a
119	119	hosting platform that derives revenues, including booking fees or
120	120	advertising revenues, from providing or maintaining a marketplace
121	121	that is used to facilitate the rental of a single-family home.
122	122	(4) "Single-family home" means a residential
123	123	structure with a yard or public way on not less than two sides that
124	124	is separated from any adjacent housing unit by a ground-to-roof
125	125	wall, does not share a heating, air-conditioning, or utility system
126	126	or a backyard, and does not have a housing unit located above or
127	127	below. The term does not include a mobile home or manufactured
128	128	home.
129	129	Sec. 5.252. LIMITATION ON PURCHASE AND RENTAL OF
130	130	SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES. (a) A corporate owner may not own or hold an
131	131	interest in more than 10 single-family homes in this state that are
132	132	used or offered for use as a rental property at any time.
133	133	(b) A corporate owner may not enter into an executory
134	134	contract to purchase, acquire, or otherwise obtain an interest in a
135	135	single-family home if, at the time the contract is entered into, the
136	136	corporate owner has an interest in 10 or more single-family homes
137	137	that have a residential tenant, are available as rental properties,
138	138	or have been offered as rental properties within the preceding 12
139	139	months.
140	140	(c) A contract entered into in violation of Subsection (b)
141	141	is voidable by the seller at any time before the contract is fully
142	142	executed.
143	143	(d) This section does not apply to:
144	144	(1) ownership and rental of single-family homes by:
145	145	(A) an agency of this state, a political
146	146	subdivision of this state, or the United States;
147	147	(B) a nonprofit organization exempt from federal
148	148	income taxation under Section 501(a), Internal Revenue Code of
149	149	1986, as a charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of that
150	150	code; or
151	151	(C) a person licensed to own and operate group
152	152	homes for people with disabilities and special health care needs;
153	153	or
154	154	(2) a single-family home rented by:
155	155	(A) an employer who rents the single-family home
156	156	to an employee;
157	157	(B) a person primarily engaged in development of
158	158	housing available for purchase by owner-occupants, with respect to
159	159	single-family homes that have not been held by the person longer
160	160	than five years without applying for building permits for the
161	161	property; or
162	162	(C) a holder of a security interest that owns the
163	163	single-family home as a result of foreclosure of the security
164	164	interest.
165	165	Sec. 5.253. ENFORCEMENT. (a) The attorney general, a
166	166	county or district attorney, independently or on behalf of an
167	167	affected municipality or county, or an appropriate agency of an
168	168	affected municipality or county may investigate an alleged
169	169	violation if there is reason to believe that a corporate owner has
170	170	violated Section 5.252 or has taken substantial steps to purchase a
171	171	single-family home with the intent to offer or use that
172	172	single-family home in violation of Section 5.252.
173	173	(b) A corporate owner who violates Section 5.252 is liable
174	174	for a civil penalty of $100,000 for each single-family home offered
175	175	or used as rental property in excess of the amount allowed under
176	176	Section 5.252.
177	177	(c) A county attorney, a district attorney, or the attorney
178	178	general may bring an action to collect a civil penalty under this
179	179	section in the district court in which any single-family home
180	180	related to the violation is located and may recover reasonable
181	181	expenses, including court costs, attorney's fees, investigative
182	182	costs, witness fees, and deposition expenses, incurred in relation
183	183	to the action. A county or district attorney may bring the action
184	184	in the name of the state or on behalf of an affected municipality or
185	185	county.
186	186	(d) Except as provided by this subsection, a civil penalty
187	187	recovered in an action brought under this section shall be
188	188	deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the general revenue
189	189	fund. A civil penalty recovered by a county or district attorney in
190	190	an action brought on behalf of a municipality or county under this
191	191	section shall be divided equally between the state and the
192	192	municipality or county, with 50 percent of the recovery to be paid
193	193	to the general revenue fund and the other 50 percent to be paid to
194	194	the municipality or county on whose behalf the suit was brought.
195	195	(e) The parties in an action under this section may agree to
196	196	a settlement that allows the corporate owner to achieve compliance
197	197	with Section 5.252(a) by selling any rental property owned by the
198	198	corporate owner, regardless of whether the corporate owner was in
199	199	violation of Section 5.252 when the property was purchased.
200	200	SECTION 3. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective
201	201	date of this Act, the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M
202	202	University shall take any actions necessary to implement Sections
203	203	86.531 and 86.532, Education Code, as added by this Act, and submit
204	204	the initial report required under Section 86.531(d), Education
205	205	Code, as added by this Act, not later than June 1, 2026.
206	206	(b) The Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M
207	207	University shall establish and make available the database required
208	208	by Section 86.532, Education Code, as added by this Act, not later
209	209	than the seventh day after the date the initial report under Section
210	210	86.531 is completed.
211	211	SECTION 4. (a) A corporate owner, as defined by Section
212	212	5.251, Property Code, as added by this Act, is not required to
213	213	comply with Section 5.252(a), Property Code, as added by this Act,
214	214	before September 1, 2027.
215	215	(b) Section 5.252(b), Property Code, as added by this Act,
216	216	applies only to an executory contract entered into on or after the
217	217	effective date of this Act.
218	218	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.