North Carolina SB 432: Home Ownership Market Manipulation.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 432

Short Title: Home Ownership Market Manipulation. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Grafstein, Everitt, and Bradley (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
March 25, 2025
*S432-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO PROHIBIT HOUSING MARKET MANIPULATION AND TO PROTECT 2
AGAINST ARTIFICIAL INFLATION BY EXCESSIVE HOME BUYING BY ENTITIES 3
PURCHASING HOMES FOR USE AS RENTAL PROPERTIES. 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
SECTION 1. Chapter 75 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article 6
to read: 7
"Article 9. 8
"Housing Market Manipulation. 9
"§ 75-150. Purpose. 10
(a) The General Assembly finds that North Carolina has experienced urban growth at 11
levels significantly higher than many states. The General Assembly does not wish to inhibit the 12
ownership of property but recognizes that it is becoming increasingly common for business 13
entities to purchase substantial numbers of single-family homes for use as rental properties, both 14
lowering the supply of and increasing the costs of such homes. The General Assembly further 15
finds that home ownership is recognized as one of the most reliable ways to build wealth, 16
permitting owners to build equity, which can serve as reserves in times of need, and in terms of 17
passive income and increases in market value of owned property. 18
(b) The General Assembly seeks, by this narrowly tailored Article, to balance the 19
interests of building wealth through the use of business entities acquiring properties for rental 20
purposes against the State, local, and individual economic benefits that result from having a 21
citizenry broadly engaged in and accruing the advantages attendant to home ownership. 22
"§ 75-151. Definitions. 23
The following definitions apply in this Article: 24
(1) Affiliate. – A person, other than an individual, that wholly or substantially 25
owns, is wholly or substantially owned by, or is under common ownership 26
with another person. 27
(2) Individual. – A human being. 28
(3) Person. – A fiduciary, a firm, an association, a partnership, a limited liability 29
company, a corporation, or other business entity or group acting as a unit. The 30
term includes an officer or employee of a corporation, a member, a manager, 31
or an employee of a limited liability company, and a member or employee of 32
a partnership who, as officer, employee, member, or manager, acts on behalf 33
of the business entity with whom they are associated or an affiliate of that 34
business entity. The term does not include governmental entities. 35

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 432-First Edition
(4) Qualifying county. – A county with a population greater than 150,000 as of 1
the most recent decennial census. 2
(5) Single-family home. – A residential structure that is either a fully detached or 3
semi-detached building or that is a row or town home that (i) is separated from 4
the adjacent unit by a ground-to-roof wall, (ii) does not share heating or 5
air-conditioning systems or utilities, and (iii) does not have units located 6
above or below. 7
"§ 75-152. Impermissible ownership quotas. 8
It is unlawful for a person, including affiliates of the person, to purchase a single-family home 9
in a qualifying county for a purpose other than use by the person as a residence if the person, 10
including affiliates of the person, owns 100 or more single-family homes in qualifying counties 11
that are used primarily for rental purposes. 12
"§ 75-153. Enforcement; remedies; damages. 13
(a) The Attorney General shall have the same authority under this Article to make rules, 14
conduct civil investigations, bring civil actions, and enter into assurances of discontinuance as 15
provided under this Chapter. In an action brought by the Attorney General pursuant to this 16
section, the court may award or impose any relief available under this Chapter. 17
(b) A person aggrieved by a violation of this Article or by a violation of rules adopted 18
under this Article or the board of county commissioners of the county in which such person lives 19
may bring an action in superior court against a person who acquires a single-family home in 20
violation of this Article. A court may impose civil penalties on a person found to violate this 21
Article of up to one hundred dollars ($100.00) per day for each single-family home acquired in 22
violation of this Article and may award to a plaintiff who prevails in an action brought pursuant 23
to this subsection one or more of the following remedies: 24
(1) Equitable relief. 25
(2) Damages. 26
(3) Costs and fees, including reasonable attorneys' fees. 27
(4) Exemplary damages in an amount equal to fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or 28
three times the total of damages, costs, and fees, whichever is greater. 29
(c) A court may award to a defendant who prevails in an action brought pursuant to this