ATLANTA — A sweeping bipartisan housing bill that became law over the weekend includes a provision aimed at addressing investor-owned homes in metro Atlanta.
The measure, proposed by U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, caps the number of single-family homes private equity companies can buy at 350. Companies that own more than 350 homes will face hefty fines. The law does not require companies to sell any of their current properties.
Warnock said the provision is intended to address housing affordability.
“This is about fairness.”
He said metro Atlanta has been heavily impacted by investor-owned homes.
“Atlanta, the city of hope, is also ground zero for private equity’s domination of the housing market.”
Warnock said the measure is intended to slow the growth of corporate ownership of single-family homes.
“This home should be owned by a person and not a corporation.”
“And so what this means is that this will stop the spread.”
According to the information released with the bill, one in four single-family rental homes in metro Atlanta is owned by large investment companies, with more than 72,000 investor-owned homes across the region.
Jacob Parcel, a local barbershop owner, said he has been trying to buy a home for his family for the past two years.
“Homes in our area have been few and far in between and the ones that are for sale are just simply too expensive.”
“I believe if you work hard and if you save for years, you should be able to buy a home in the neighborhood that you want to be in.”
WSB Radio’s Jonathan O’Brien contributed to this story.