Sponsor
Jeff Merkley
Senator · D-OR
Senator · D-OR
The bill extends federal TILA protections and regulatory clarity to home-equity investment products—improving consumer remedies and predictability—while risking higher compliance and litigation costs and reduced product availability that could raise prices or limit options for some homeowners.
Homeowners using home-equity investment / equity-for-cash products gain federal TILA civil-liability protections allowing damages or other remedies for disclosure violations.
Homeowners and low-income consumers get a clearer federal definition and regulatory coverage for novel equity-for-cash products, improving disclosures, consumer information, and predictability about how these products are regulated.
Financial institutions offering equity-for-cash products receive statutory clarity about the applicable regulatory regime, reducing legal uncertainty once the CFPB issues implementing rules.
Homeowners and investors face increased litigation risk and potential damages if disclosures or compliance are imperfect, which can raise costs for consumers and providers.
A broad statutory definition (potentially including derivatives) could pull many products into coverage, creating compliance burdens that increase operational costs and may be passed on to consumers as higher prices.
If the CFPB implements strict remedies, some providers may exit the market or raise prices, reducing availability of novel equity-release options and limiting liquidity choices for homeowners who need cash.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Adds a statutory definition for "home equity investment loan" and directs the CFPB to apply TILA's civil liability remedies to violations involving those products.
Official title: Amend the Truth in Lending Act to include a home equity investment loan in the definition of a residential mortgage loan for the purposes of that Act, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 17, 2026 by Jeff Merkley · Last progress June 17, 2026
Defines a new consumer credit product called a “home equity investment loan” as any transaction secured by a mortgage or other consensual security interest in a dwelling where the consumer receives money or value in exchange for an interest in the property and an obligation tied to the property's value. Directs the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to issue regulations making the Truth in Lending Act’s civil liability remedies available for violations involving these newly defined products.