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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 2077
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE MURRA Y .
51 12H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o amend chapter 620, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to investor
purchase of residential homes, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 620, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be
2 known as section 620.5000, to read as follows:
620.5000. 1. This section shall be known and may be cited as the "End Hedge
2 Fund Contr ol of American Homes Act".
3 2. As used in this section, the following terms mean:
4 (1) "Community-based entity", a nonprofi t organization, community
5 development corporation, or community land trust whose mission includes affordable
6 housing or res ident ownership;
7 (2) "Covered res idential pro perty", includes:
8 (a) A single-family home;
9 (b) A two-family duplex, thr ee-family triplex, or four -family quadplex dwelling
10 unit; or
11 (c) Any par cel zoned primarily for resi dential use containing up to four dwelling
12 units;
13 (3) "Department", the department of economic development;
14 (4) "Individual owner", a natural person who holds title in their own name, or in
15 a rev ocable trust for their primary re sidence or family use;
16 (5) "Institutional investor", any entity:
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
17 (a) Including a hedge fund, private equity firm, real estate investment trust,
18 corporation, partnership, or limited liability company , that owns, dir ectly or indirectl y ,
19 mor e than fifty res idential pr operties within the United States; or
20 (b) That manages assets on behalf of others with an aggr egate value exceeding
21 one hundr ed million dollars and engages in rea l estate investment as part of its business
22 operations.
23 3. (1) No institutional investor shall purch ase, acquire, or take title to any
24 cover ed res idential pr operty on or after August 28, 2026.
25 (2) No subsidiary , affiliate, shell company , or special-purpose entity creat ed for
26 the purpose of evading the pro visions of this section shall be permitted to hold title to a
27 cover ed res idential pr operty .
28 4. Any transfer of ownership made by an institutional investor or its subsidiary ,
29 affiliates, shell company , or special-purpose entity in violation of this section shall be
30 void, and title shall revert to the prior owner for res ale to an eligible buyer .
31 5. An institutional investor who curren tly holds cover ed res idential pr operty or
32 pr operties as of August 28, 2026, shall:
33 (1) Divest ownership in such pro perties within thr ee years; and
34 (2) Submit a divestment plan to the department by Mar ch first, outlining how
35 the pr operty or pr operties will be sold to an individual owner or to a community-based
36 entity .
37 6. The pr ovisions of this section shall not apply to:
38 (1) Nonpr ofit affordable housing pro viders or land trusts;
39 (2) Public housing authorities;
40 (3) Small businesses or local partnerships owning fewer than fifty re sidential
41 units statewide; or
42 (4) Financial institutions holding for eclosed prop erties for res ale within twelve
43 months of acquisition.
44 7. The department shall coordinate with each county record er of deeds in the
45 appr opriate county office or use the county's official website portal to:
46 (1) Creat e and maintain a registry of institutional investors and their res idential
47 pr operty holdings in the state; and
48 (2) Review record ed deeds and titles to ensur e compliance with this section.
49 8. The attorney general's office is authorized to enforce this section and shall
50 bring a civil action including, but not limited to, forfeiture pro ceedings in a court of
51 competent jurisdiction in the county wher e all or part of the r eal pr operty that is the
52 subject of the violation is located.
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53 9. Any permanent injunction, judgment, or order of the court shall be prima
54 facie evidence in an action bro ught under this section that the defendant used or
55 engaged in an action or practice that is contrary to the state's prioritization for
56 affordable housing or r esident ownership.
57 10. An institutional investor or entity that a court determines in an action
58 br ought under this section by the attorney general's office to have violated the
59 pr ovisions of this section is subject to:
60 (1) A civil penalty or fines of up to fifty thousand dollars per pr operty; and
61 (2) Divestiture of pr operty or pro perties unlawfully obtained either thr ough sale,
62 termination of a leasehold, or other disposition of the inter est in pr operty .
63 1 1. Any res ident displaced by a violation under this section may bring a private
64 civil action in the cir cuit court wher e all or part of the real pr operty that is the subject of
65 the violation is located, to seek injunctive rel ief and reco ver actual damages.
66 12. The department shall pr omulgate all necessary rules and regu lations for the
67 administration of this section including, but not limited to, the following:
68 (1) Define compliance repo rting standards;
69 (2) Establish verification and audit proce dures for institutional ownership; and
70 (3) Develop guidelines for the res ale of divested homes to individual and
71 community-based buyers.
72 13. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in section 536.010, that
73 is cr eated under the authority delegated in this section shall become effective only if it
74 complies with and is subject to all of the pr ovisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable,
75 section 536.028. This section and chapter 536 are nonseverable and if any of the powers
76 vested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 536 to revi ew , to delay the
77 effective date, or to disappr ove and annul a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional,
78 then the grant of rulemaking authority and any rule pro posed or adopted after August
79 28, 2026, shall be invalid and void.
✔
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