Sen. Warnock's ban on private equity firms buying single-family homes becomes federal law

One of Sen. Raphael Warnock's highest-profile housing proposals has officially become federal law, marking a significant policy change aimed at slowing corporate ownership of single-family homes in Georgia and across the country.

Warnock announced Saturday that his provision prohibiting large private equity firms from purchasing additional single-family homes took effect after the broader bipartisan housing package became law without President Donald Trump's signature. 

Under the Constitution, legislation passed by Congress can become law if the president neither signs nor vetoes it within the required 10-day window while Congress remains in session. 

The provision is included in the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which lawmakers have described as the most significant federal housing reform package in decades. 

The legislation also includes measures intended to increase housing supply, modernize the appraisal process, expand rural housing programs and encourage local governments to build more housing. 

"I hear from Georgians across the state who have been clamoring for action from Washington on the affordable housing crisis, and this legislation is proof that when we center the people instead of the politics, we can get good policy done," Warnock said in a statement. 

The new law follows years of growing concern over the role institutional investors have played in Georgia's housing market.

As CBS News Atlanta previously reported, more than one in four single-family rental homes in metro Atlanta are owned by large corporate investors — more than 72,000 homes — giving the region one of the highest concentrations of institutional ownership anywhere in the United States.

Housing advocates have argued that those companies can outbid families with cash offers, reducing the number of homes available to first-time buyers while contributing to higher home prices and rents.

Warnock has repeatedly cited those trends in pushing the legislation, saying corporate investors have increasingly treated homes as financial assets instead of places for families to live.

In addition to limiting future purchases by private equity firms, the housing package includes provisions designed to incentivize local governments and financial institutions to build more housing, reduce regulatory barriers, provide grants and forgivable loans for home repairs and weatherization, and reform several longstanding federal housing programs. The legislation also incorporates Warnock's Appraisal Modernization Act, which supporters say is intended to improve fairness in the home appraisal process. 

The law's long-term impact on Georgia's housing market remains to be seen, but housing affordability continues to be a growing concern across metro Atlanta, where rising prices and limited inventory have made homeownership increasingly difficult for many families.

The legislation represents one of the most significant federal efforts in years to address the influence of institutional investors in the nation's single-family housing market.