SB 1212: Real estate investment trusts: purchase, acquisition, and sale of housing.

Existing law provides that all property has an owner, whether that owner is the state and the property is public, or the owner is an individual and the property is private.

This bill, on and after January 1, 2025, would prohibit an investment entity, make it unlawful for a real estate investment trust, as defined, from purchasing or acquiring to purchase or acquire an interest, as defined, in a single-family dwelling or other dwelling that consists of one or 2 residential units within this state. The bill would provide that a purchase or acquisition of an interest in housing in violation of this prohibition is void. The bill would define investment entity as a real estate investment trust or an entity that manages funds pooled from investors and owes a fiduciary duty to those investors. The bill would exempt nonprofit organizations, entities primarily engaged in the construction of housing, and governmental entities from the definition of investment entity. units, unless the housing has been listed for sale to the general public for at least 60 days. The bill would reset that 60-day timeline if the seller changes the asking price for the housing. The bill would prohibit a real estate investment trust that purchases or acquires any housing in compliance with these provisions from paying a final sales price that less than 95% of the publically listed asking price. The bill would impose civil damages upon a real estate investment trust that violates these provisions in an amount not to exceed $1,000,000. The bill would absolve a seller of housing from liability under these provisions if the seller obtains a written release signed by the buyer stating that the buyer is not an investment entity. a real estate investment trust.