[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8903 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8903
To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish
a renter outreach resource, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 19, 2026
Ms. Pressley introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish
a renter outreach resource, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Renter Resource Center Act''.
SEC. 2. RENTER OUTREACH RESOURCE ESTABLISHED.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
shall, not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, establish a renter outreach resource that consists of a toll-free
telephone number and a public website designed to assist renters of
residential properties owned by a covered large institutional investor
in--
(1) notifying Federal agencies about disputes relating to
the rental of such properties, including--
(A) disputes about potential violations of Federal
law;
(B) disputes about potential violations of State
law; and
(C) other disputed renter matters;
(2) sharing information about such disputes with other
Federal agencies, including other Federal agencies that manage
similar disputes;
(3) monitoring such disputes; and
(4) resolving such disputes, to the extent practicable.
(b) Response to Outreach.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish reasonable
procedures to--
(A) promptly respond, in writing where appropriate,
to a renter who provides information to the Secretary
about a dispute using the renter outreach resource
established under subsection (a); and
(B) document such responses.
(2) Contents.--Responses provided under paragraph (1) shall
include, where appropriate, information about--
(A) steps that have been taken by the Secretary or
another Federal agency in response to the information
about the dispute provided by the renter, including
determining the appropriate covered large institutional
investor involved as described in subsection (c);
(B) any responses received by the Secretary or
another Federal agency from the covered large
institutional investor related to such dispute; and
(C) any outcome of the dispute, to the extent
practicable.
(c) Investigation of Potential Violations of Federal Law.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall promptly process and
investigate any information relating to a dispute received
through the renter outreach resource established under
subsection (a) about a potential violation of Federal law that
is received from a renter of a residential property owned by a
covered large institutional investor through the renter
outreach resource established under subsection (a), including
by sharing information about such potential violation of
Federal law with any relevant Federal agencies, as the
Secretary may determine appropriate, and by determining the
appropriate covered large institutional investor involved as
needed.
(2) Responses to requests for information.--A covered large
institutional investor may respond to any request for
information made pursuant to paragraph (1) and may include in
such response whether such covered large institutional investor
owns the property described in such request for information.
(d) Information for Appropriate State Authority.--When the
Secretary receives information about a potential violation of State law
or about a dispute received through the renter outreach resource, from
a renter of a residential property owned by a covered large
institutional investor through the renter outreach resource established
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall, at a minimum, provide the
renter with contact information for the appropriate, State-specific,
State authority authorized to process and investigate such information.
(e) Notice About Renter Outreach Resource.--Each covered large
institutional investor shall--
(1) provide to each renter of a residential property owned
by such investor at the time such renter first occupies such
home and annually thereafter--
(A) written notice about the renter outreach
resource established under subsection (a); and
(B) the name, phone number, and email address of
the person or entity responsible for receiving and
addressing renter disputes for the covered large
institutional investor, and update the name, phone
number, and email address within 30 days if such
information changes prior to the subsequent time at
which such notice is required to be provided; and
(2) prominently feature information about the renter
outreach resource established under subsection (a) on a public
website of such investor that is accessible by such renter.
(f) Annual Report to the Congress.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall, not later than March
31 of each year, submit to the Congress a public report which
analyzes and aggregates the information received or obtained
pursuant to this Act during the prior year that includes--
(A) information about the types and the number of
disputes received about potential violations of Federal
law;
(B) information about the types and the number of
disputes received about potential violations of State
law;
(C) information about the types and the number of
disputes received about other disputed renter matters;
(D) where practicable, information about the
resolution of such disputes; and
(E) information provided to the Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development under subsection (h).
(2) Anonymization of data.--Any data included in a report
that is submitted under this paragraph shall be aggregated or
anonymized so as to protect any individual dispute or
personally identifiable information received through the renter
outreach resource.
(g) Protection of Personal Information.--In complying with the
requirements of this Act, the Secretary shall take such measures as the
Secretary determines are necessary to provide for the protection of
personally identifiable information received through the renter
outreach resource in a manner that conforms with existing standards for
protection of the confidentiality of personally identifiable
information.
(h) Annual Notification.--An owner of a residential property owned
by a covered large institutional investor, as such term is defined in
subsection (i) shall, beginning in calendar year 2026--
(1) notify the Secretary each year, before December 31st
whether such owner remains a covered large institutional
investor as defined in subsection (i); and
(2) in such notification, identify how many covered single-
family homes such covered large institutional investor has
direct or indirect investment control of as of the date of the
submission of such notice, and the city and State where each
such covered single-family home is located, unless such covered
large institutional investor owns 10 or fewer covered single-
family homes in such city.
(i) Definitions.--In this section:
(2) Covered large institutional investor.--
(A) In general.--The term ``covered large
institutional investor''--
(i) means an investment fund, corporation,
general or limited partnership, limited
liability company, joint venture, association,
or other for-profit entity that is a legal
entity structured in a manner that is not
aforementioned that--
(I) is engaged, in whole or in
part, in the business of investing in,
owning, renting, or holding covered
single-family homes; and
(II) alone or in concert with 1 or
more other entities, beginning after
the date of enactment of this Act, has
direct or indirect investment control
of not less than 350 covered single-
family homes in the aggregate, not
including any covered single-family
home purchased in an excepted purchase
made after the date of enactment of
this Act; and
(ii) does not include--
(I) any local, State, Tribal, or
Federal Government entity or
instrumentality thereof;
(II) a nonprofit organization
described in section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that is
exempt from taxation under section
501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code; or
(III) a community land trust as
such term is defined in section 104 of
the Cranston-Gonzalez National
Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C.
12704), as amended by this Act.
(B) Investment control.--
(i) In general.--For purposes of this
paragraph, an entity has direct or indirect
investment control over a covered single-family
home if the entity--
(I) owns, or has primary authority
or fiduciary responsibility to make
material investment or management
decisions relating to the covered
single-family home;
(II) is or directly or indirectly
controls, the general partner or
managing member of the entity that owns
the covered single-family home;
(III) is or controls the investment
manager, management company, or
investment advisor of the entity that
owns the covered single-family home;
(IV) owns or controls more than 25
percent of any class of equity
interests of the entity that owns the
covered single-family home, unless such
entity is a passive investor; or
(V) otherwise controls the entity
that owns the covered single-family
home.
(ii) Passive investment.--For purposes of
this paragraph, an entity shall be considered a
passive investor if such entity does not
satisfy subclauses (I), (II), and (III) of
clause (i).
(C) Rule of construction.--
(i) In general.--Nothing in this Act shall
be construed to establish that an entity has
direct or indirect investment control over a
covered single-family home solely by virtue
of--
(I) such entity's entry into, or
performance under, a third-party
contract for the property management of
a covered single-family home, including
tasks related to maintenance of the
home and the selection of tenants,
provided that such entity does not have
direct or indirect investment control
over such a covered single-family home;
or
(II) owning a fractional interest
of a covered large institutional
investor.
(3) Covered single-family home.--The term ``covered single-
family home''--
(A) means a property that contains 2 or fewer
dwelling units that are each intended for residential
occupancy by a single household; and
(B) does not include--
(i) a manufactured home, as defined in
section 603 of the National Manufactured
Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act
of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5402);
(ii) a property that, when occupied, has
always been occupied by a renter;
(iii) a property that, when occupied, is
rented to a member of a regular component of
the Armed Forces or a member of the National
Guard on full-time National Guard duty, active
Guard and Reserve duty, or inactive-duty
training (as those terms are defined in section
101 of title 10, United States Code) who has
received--
(I) temporary duty orders to deploy
with a military unit or military orders
to deploy as an individual acting in
support of a military operation for a
period of not less than 90 days; or
(II) orders for a permanent change
of station;
(iv) a property owned by its owner for less
than 365 days, other than a covered single-
family home purchased pursuant to paragraph
(4)(F);
(v) a property that is made up of multiple
rental homes or units constructed on a single
parcel of property that cannot legally be sold
as individual homes or units without further
subdividing the property;
(vi) a property that is actively under a
first-look period for owner-occupants or HUD-
approved affordable housing nonprofits for a
period of not less than 30 days; or
(vii) a property that is designed and
intended to be occupied or leased by the
bedroom or in which individual bedrooms are
intended for occupancy by separate, unrelated
persons under separate lease or occupancy
agreements.
(4) Excepted purchase.--The term ``excepted purchase''
means any purchase of a covered single-family home that is--
(A) or will be newly constructed, renovated for
sale, or a rental conversion for sale by an owner and
not as a residence rented pending sale;
(B) pursuant to a build-to-rent program where an
owner purchases, constructs, or constructs and retains
a newly constructed covered single-family home to be
managed as a rental property, whether as part of a
community made up exclusively of renter-occupied
single-family homes or as part of a community made up
of single-family homes that are both owner- and renter-
occupied;
(C) pursuant to a renovate-to-rent program that
substantially rehabilitates a covered single-family
home that does not meet--
(i) structural or core system elements of
local building codes; or
(ii) minimum property standards required
for conventional mortgage financing;
(D) pursuant to a home-ownership program that--
(i) requires rental payments and any other
fees that are not greater than those collected
by the covered large institutional investor on
other similarly situated covered single-family
homes not covered by the eligible home-
ownership program;
(ii) provides for positive reporting of
rental payments to consumer reporting agencies
for any renter, who shall be informed of and
opts into such reporting;
(iii) provides for a right of first refusal
and a 60-day first-look period for the current
renter in instances where the covered single-
family home is offered for sale to another
owner; and
(iv) requires contribution of meaningful
financial support from the covered large
institutional investor, including price
concessions, for the purchase of a covered
single-family home by the renter, whether for
the home the renter is occupying or another
home;
(E) in connection with the satisfaction of debts
previously contracted in good faith and where the owner
has the right to repossess the covered single-family
home under such contract;
(F) undertaken by a mortgage servicer, lender, or
other entity that has a legal right to purchase or
otherwise acquire a covered single-family home, for the
purpose of loss mitigation or compliance with servicing
or investor obligations, and not as a long-term
investment strategy, and is solely as a result of--
(i) a foreclosure;
(ii) a deed in lieu of foreclosure;
(iii) enforcement of a mortgage, deed of
trust, or other security interest; or
(iv) operation of law following borrower
default,
provided that for federally backed mortgage loans as
defined in section 4022(a) of the CARES Act (15 U.S.C.
9056(a)), including such loans that are sold to a third
party, when the foreclosed property purchased under
this provision is offered for sale, the mortgage
servicer, lender, or other entity provides a 30-day
first-look period to an owner-occupant or to an
affordable housing nonprofit approved by the relevant
Federal agency;
(G) purchased from a covered large institutional
investor that either owned the covered single-family
home on the date of enactment of this Act or purchased
the covered single-family home through an exempted
purchase;
(H) intended and operated for occupancy as part of
a community for households with 1 or more members aged
55 years or older, and to the extent required by law,
satisfies visitability standards established by the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;
(I) intended to and will be after the purchase
operated as a facility--
(i) used to provide residential care to
individuals with disabilities (as such term is
defined in section 3 of the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102)) or
developmental disabilities (as such term is
defined in section 102 of the Developmental
Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act
of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15002)); and
(ii) that connects such individuals with
community-based services that are approved by
Medicaid or Medicare;
(J) acquired as a part of a community of 5 or more
contiguous rental units;
(K) planned, permitted, financed, and constructed
as a part of a single unified rental community on a
single platted parcel, where a owner or an affiliate
thereof owns or controls the land and manages the
community as a single rental facility, and the
individual structures within the community are not
offered or intended for individual sale to separate
purchasers;
(L) purchased with support from any program
described in section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, or any other affordable housing program in which
the rent of supported units is restricted; or
(M) executed through a combination or series of
purchases described in subparagraphs (A) through (L).
(5) First-look period.--The term ``first-look period''
means the specified period of time commencing on the first day
on which a property is made available for sale during which it
is exclusively made available for purchase only to the entities
specified.
(6) Purchase.--The term ``purchase'' includes any purchase,
transfer, or other acquisition of a covered single-family home,
including through mergers, acquisitions, foreclosures, or bulk
purchases, whether or not for cash consideration.
(7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Housing and Urban Development.
(8) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the 50 several
States of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
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