家族办公室见解：“机构投资者”对单户家庭购房的限制：家族办公室需要知道什么

“Institutional Investor” Restrictions on Single-familyHome Purchases: What Family Offices Need to Know US – April 2026 than 350 single-family homes in the aggregate,” excludinghomes acquired through certain “excepted purchases.” Third,the entity must not be a governmental body.3 Procedural History: Executive Order toProposed Legislation On January 20, 2026, President Donald Trump issued anexecutive order titled “Stopping Wall Street From CompetingWith Main Street Homebuyers” (the “EO”), aimed atpreserving the supply of single-family homes for Americanfamilies and increasing the paths to homeownership. The EOdirects certain federal agencies to begin taking steps to limitfederal support of “large institutional investors” purchasing“single-family homes.” Notably, the executive order does notdefine the terms “large institutional investor” or “single-familyhome,” and instead directs the secretary of the treasury toprovide those definitions within 30 days of the order’s issuance. For purposes of the Senate Bill, a “single-family home” isdefined as “a structure that contains two or fewer dwellingunits that are each intended for residential occupancy bya single household; and does not include a manufacturedhome, as defined in section 603 of the National ManufacturedHousing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974.”4 Implications for Family Offices As currently drafted, the Senate Bill’s definition of a largeinstitutional investor should exclude most family offices,as it is premised on investment control over “350 or moresingle-family homes”. That said, the EO and the Senate Bill arestill relevant for family offices in several important ways: Nearly three months have passed since the EO was issued,and the treasury has not released further guidance on thesecritical definitions. However, Congress has moved to addressthis gap. First, both the EO and the Senate Bill are forward-looking.Neither requires large institutional investors to sell existingholdings. This means that existing portfolios are not subjectto forced divestiture, and that prior investment decisions arenot being revisited under a new regulatory regime. For familyoffices with existing exposure to residential real estate, thissubstantially reduces the potential for near-term disruptionand allows time for thoughtful planning as the policylandscape evolves. On March 10, 2026, the Senate passed the 21st CenturyROAD to Housing Act (the “Senate Bill”) with significantbipartisan support. Section 901 of the Senate Bill, titled“Homes Are For People, Not Corporations,” responds to theEO’s legislative demand to prohibit institutional investorsfrom purchasing single-family homes and proposes languagefor the missing definitions. The Senate Bill was sent to theHouse of Representatives on March 16, 2026, and remainssubject to further consideration and amendments. Given itsincorporation of the EO’s framework, the Senate Bill alsoappears to have the support of the Trump administration.1 Second, the combined effect of the EO and the Senate Billis alreadyinfluencing the single-family housing marketandis likely to continue doing so if the Senate Bill is enacted.Together, these actions have introduced uncertainty in certaininvestment strategies, particularly those involving aggregationof existing single-family home portfolios or partnerships withlarge institutional sponsors that have significant single-familyhome portfolios. This uncertainty is likely to impact dealflow, pricing and exit assumptions. For family offices, thismeans that some opportunities to partner with private equitysponsors holding significant single-family home portfoliosmay come under increased regulatory scrutiny, while otherstrategies, particularly those aligned with new construction,redevelopment or renter-to-homeowner strategies, maybecome more attractive. The Senate Bill’s Institutional InvestorDefinition At its core, the Senate Bill prohibits “large institutionalinvestors” from directly or indirectly purchasing single-familyhomes. Whether an entity qualifies as a “large institutionalinvestor” under the Senate Bill turns on the followingthree-part statutory definition. First, the entity must be a for-profit entity that “is engaged,in whole or in part, in the business of investing in, owning,renting, managing or holding single-family homes.” Second,the entity must, “alone or in concert with one or more otherentities, beginning after the date of enactment of this act,directly or indirectly [have] investment control2of not less Third, family offices contemplating future investmentsinvolving single-family homes should closely review anycontrol rights. While many family office investments can takethe form of passive limited partner interests, the SenateBill’s definition of “investment control” is broad.5Controlmay arise not only from ownership, but also from veto rights,appointment or removal rights or other rights that influencemanagement decisions. In practice, even minority investors