Senator Rosen Introduced The Housing Oversight And Mitigating Exploitation (HOME) Act Last Month
RENO, NV – Today, in Reno, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) held a roundtable to discuss her efforts to lower housing costs with Reno Councilwoman Kathleen Taylor; Ann Silver, President and CEO of the Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce; Dr. Hilary Lopez, Executive Director of Reno Housing Authority; Maurice Page, Executive Director of the Nevada Housing Coalition; and Andrew Rivas, a Nevadan who has been impacted by high housing costs. One of the ways Senator Rosen is tackling the housing affordability crisis is by going after corporate investors who are price gouging Nevadans.
Senator Rosen’s Housing Oversight and Mitigating Exploitation (HOME) Act will help lower housing costs for families by cracking down on artificial hikes in rents and property costs in Nevada and across the country. It would direct the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to investigate price manipulation and price gouging by investors and make it illegal for anyone to rent or sell a unit during a housing emergency at an unreasonable level. Any fines collected from institutional investors for engaging in behavior prohibited by this legislation would be deposited into the National Housing Trust Fund, which is used to increase and preserve affordable housing for low-income families.
“I’m grateful to everyone who participated in today’s discussion, which underscored just how skyrocketing housing and rental prices are hurting Nevadans,” said Senator Rosen. “I’m committed to doing everything I can to lower costs and prevent corporate investors from taking advantage of Nevada families. This includes passing my legislation to crack down on price gouging in the housing market by these corporate investors.”
“The continuing rise in costs for housing is impacting our small business community and the employees they want to hire and retain, said Ann Silver, Chief Executive Officer of the Reno + Sparks Chamber of Commerce. “If individuals can’t pay their rent, find suitable housing, or find affordable childcare, they stay home, quit their jobs and relocate. We’re grateful for Senator Rosen’s work to address housing affordability and to put the home back in “Home Means Nevada.”
“Nevada is experiencing a housing affordability crisis that requires action,” said Maurice Page, Executive Director of the Nevada Housing Coalition. “In parts of our state, we have seen how corporate housing investors are buying up homes and hiking costs for families. Senator Rosen has been a steadfast advocate for housing in Nevada, and her legislation helps crack down on these investors and lower housing costs for Nevadans.”
Senator Rosen is fighting to lower housing costs for Nevadans. She recently called on the Federal Reserve to reverse its interest rate hikes that have raised housing costs by driving mortgage rates to 20-year highs. Last year, Senator Rosen led her colleagues in a letter to Senate appropriators requesting that they fund the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Veterans Affairs and Supportive Housing program. She also helped secure nearly $15 million in funding to address homelessness and housing insecurity in southern Nevada and more than $48 million to increase access to affordable housing in the state. Senator Rosen also helped pass legislation to provide nearly $165 million in funding to Nevada for emergency rental assistance, as well as the funding for Nevada’s $500 million Home Means Nevada Initiative.
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