Senate poised to advance housing bill to limit private equity purchases

After months of debate in both houses of Congress, the Senate is expected to vote Monday to pass a bipartisan affordable housing bill that would limit the number of single-family homes large investors can purchase.

The vote comes after lawmakers agreed last week on the bill, which aims to limit the influence of private capital on the housing market while increasing housing supply. The parliament is expected to vote on the bill this week.

“America is facing a housing crisis, and it is long past time for Congress to act,” said Sen. Adam Schiff of California, who supports the legislation. sent to x Sunday. “The bipartisan PATH to Housing Act will increase our housing supply and stop private equity from buying single-family homes and lower costs.”

The legislation aims to increase housing affordability ahead of 2026 midterm elections in which Republicans hope to defend narrow majorities in both chambers, at a time when both parties are touting efforts to lower the cost of living. President Donald Trump has signaled his support for the bill.

But the bill nearly failed to materialize as Republicans debated provisions restricting institutional investors and the House and Senate negotiated different versions of the proposal. Lawmakers last week found middle ground between a House version seen as friendlier to Wall Street and a Senate version that imposes more restrictions on institutional investors.

A sticking point in an earlier iteration would have required investors who owned 350 or more units to sell new units they built beyond that limit within seven years. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were concerned that imposing such restrictions would hinder the creation of new housing.

The final version of the bill, which the Senate is expected to vote on Monday afternoon, maintains the 350-unit limit but removes the seven-year final sale provision.

“As America faces a housing shortage of more than 4.7 million, expanding supply remains the most effective and sustainable way to increase affordability, support workforce mobility and strengthen local economies,” Neil Bradley, executive vice president, chief policy officer and head of strategic advocacy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement last week. he said.

“This supply-driven package will spur housing development by modernizing federal housing programs, reducing regulatory hurdles, protecting residential and multifamily rental housing options, increasing pathways to homeownership, and encouraging much-needed investment and new construction,” Bradley said.

The package was supported by Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate banking panel. and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. and Reps. French Hill, R-Ark., who sits atop the House Financial Services Committee. and D-Calif. Managed by.

It would also ease some regulations to allow the construction of new homes, tie Community Development Block Grant funding to increased housing supply in communities, and create a pilot program to award grants to finance the redevelopment of vacant units into housing.

“Congress has never before placed restrictions on private capital’s ability to get into any industry it wants, buy whatever it wants, and destroy what it wants,” Warren told CNBC in a brief interview in the Capitol hallway. “This bill is historic because it puts a resounding ‘no’ on the growth of private capital trying to mow down our neighborhoods.”

— CNBC’s Emily Wilkins contributed to this story.