Merkley, Wyden join legislation to address anticompetitive behavior in residential housing market
WASHINGTON (KTVZ) - Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., announced last week that they have joined the recently introduced Housing Acquisitions Review and Transparency (HART) Act, led by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH).
The bill requires corporations and private equity firms that buy up large amounts of housing to report those transactions to antitrust enforcers to stop anticompetitive transactions that could increase rents, decrease services, and push homebuyers out of the market. Currently, even the largest transactions of residential property are exempted from reporting to the Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department for antitrust review.
“It is plain wrong that giant financial corporations are buying up homes across the nation, driving up both rents and home prices for hardworking families. This bill provides much-needed transparency on those purchases,” Merkley said. “Along with my End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act, I’ll keep fighting to help all Oregonians afford a decent place to call home and realize the dream of homeownership.”
“Buyers are being forced out of an already-impossible housing market by corporations using any trick in the book to fill their pockets,” Wyden said. “Amid a housing crisis and the criminalization of homelessness, every measure must be taken to protect people from forking over their whole paycheck just to have a safe place to sleep. That means stopping predatory companies from jacking up prices and giving buyers the short end of the stick.”
Cosponsored by Merkley and Wyden, the HART Act is led by Klobuchar and Brown. The legislation is also co-sponsored by Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
Additionally, the HART Act has been endorsed by the American Antitrust Institute, National Low Income Housing Coalition; the American Economic Liberties Project; P Street; Accountable.US; and the Open Markets Institute.
“As millions of Americans struggle to make ends meet amidst sky-high housing costs, corporate landlords and private equity firms are taking advantage of the ongoing housing crisis by buying up millions of units and raising rents on families. By removing exemptions used to obscure investments in residential properties by giant corporations, Senator Klobuchar’s legislation empowers antitrust agencies to uphold fair market practices and cut down on unfair price gouging plaguing American families,” said Caroline Ciccone, President of Accountable.US. “Greater transparency is key to ensuring corporate landlord monopolies do not thrive in secret at the expense of tenants.”
