US House passes 396-13 bipartisan bill to restrict large investors from buying single-family homes

The US House voted 396-13 on Wednesday to pass a bipartisan housing affordability bill that would limit large investors from purchasing single-family homes, while preserving the ability to build new housing. The White House backed the revised legislation after lawmakers stripped a Senate provision that would have required major investors holding 350 or more units to divest newly built rental homes within seven years.

Housing, rental, and construction industry groups supported the removal of that provision, clearing the path for the lopsided House vote. The bill now returns to the Senate, where its prospects remain uncertain — lawmakers are still divided over how aggressively Congress should restrict build-to-rent housing and institutional investor ownership of residential property.

The near-unanimous House margin signals rare bipartisan consensus on housing affordability, but the…