HOME Act of 2025

This bill aims to stop “price gouging” in housing during a declared affordable housing crisis. If HUD says the country is in a housing crisis, it becomes illegal, for a limited time, to rent or sell homes at prices that are wildly higher than normal and take advantage of the crisis. HUD must consider things like mortgage rates, median rents and home prices, and income before declaring a crisis. Any ban lasts up to 30 days at a time and can be renewed. Sellers can defend price increases if they can show real added costs or risks. Penalties collected go to a national fund to build and preserve housing for very low-income families. State attorneys general can also sue violators to stop the conduct and seek penalties and refunds for residents .

The bill also tells HUD to set up a unit to track housing costs and investor activity, look for market manipulation, and share data with states. HUD must investigate if one buyer gets more than 5% of single-family homes for sale in a local area over three years, or if large investors together buy more than 25% in one year. It also orders a study of unfair tenant screening (like harmful algorithms or income-source bias), and directs the housing regulator to set rules so loans it backs for apartment buildings include basic renter protections and prevent extreme rent hikes. The Justice Department and FTC must review anti-competitive behavior in rental and home sale markets and report to Congress .

• Who is affected: renters, homebuyers, landlords, property managers, big investors, and mortgage giants that buy multifamily loans .
• What changes: temporary ban on excessive pricing during a crisis; new HUD monitoring and enforcement; investigations into large investor buying; checks on unfair tenant screening; renter protections tied to certain loans; state and federal enforcement with penalties going to affordable housing .
• When: only during declared crisis periods (up to 30 days at a time, renewable); several reports and rules follow after enactment .