Federal Policy on Institutional Homebuyers Could Reshape Community Associations

CAI supports new federal policy that could expand homeownership opportunities while preserving homeowners' ability to govern their communities.

NEW YORK CITY, NY, UNITED STATES, October 26, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Community Associations Institute, the global authority on the common interest housing model, commends the U.S. Department of the Treasury for proposing regulations to implement restrictions on large institutional investor purchases of single-family homes.

Beginning Jan. 7, 2027, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act’s restrictions generally prohibit large institutional investors that control at least 350 single-family homes from purchasing additional single-family homes, subject to certain exceptions. Treasury’s proposed rule, released Oct. 22, provides the framework for implementing those restrictions.

The proposed regulations would directly impact community associations, which represent more than one-third of U.S. housing and are home to nearly 1 in 4 Americans. According to the Foundation for Community Association Research, 78.1 million Americans live in 373,000 homeowners associations, condominium communities, and housing cooperatives comprising 29.6 million homes.

For CAI, Treasury’s action advances a longstanding advocacy priority: protecting opportunities for homeownership while preserving the ability of homeowners to determine the future of their own communities. Stemming from its 2019 work in Tennessee by the CAI Tennessee Legislative Action Committee, CAI has defended community associations against efforts to prevent homeowners from adopting and enforcing reasonable rental restrictions. As of 2026, CAI has supported legislation in at least 14 states to preserve that authority, demonstrating the national scope of its advocacy.

“CAI recognized the threat of institutional investors in the housing market years before it became a national policy priority,” says Dawn M. Bauman, CAE, CAI’s chief executive officer. “Families shouldn't have to compete against institutional buyers who can make cash offers and acquire homes at scale. Our members see what happens after purchase, too: ownership becomes concentrated, voting power shifts, and homeowners can lose the ability to shape their own neighborhoods. We commend Treasury, Congress, and President Trump for taking action to make homeownership more attainable for more Americans.”

For community associations, the consequences extend beyond competition at the closing table. Concentrated ownership can give a single investor substantial influence over elections, meeting quorum, and covenant amendments, complicate covenant enforcement and homeowner participation, and, depending on the community and applicable lending requirements, affect access to mortgage financing.

CAI’s March 2026 white paper, Long-Term Corporate Owned Rentals in the Community Association Industry, examines the growth and community-level effects of institutional investment. Between 2011 and 2017, large investors spent a combined $36 billion purchasing more than 200,000 homes. The paper also documents concentrated rental ownership in Tennessee, including a Spring Hill subdivision where one company controlled nearly half of the rental homes.

“Expanding homeownership and supporting healthy rental housing are not competing goals,” adds Bauman. “Federal policy should give families a fair opportunity to buy a home while respecting the rights of homeowners to shape the places they call home.”

As Treasury considers public comments, CAI urges policymakers to preserve these community protections and ensure that exceptions for qualifying investment programs do not become avenues for circumventing lawful and reasonable association covenants.

Resources

CAI White Paper:
https://www.caionline.org/getmedia/ad0ecb88-a68d-4cc3-a9f2-c39e75744547/community-associations-and-corporate-rentals-white-paper-updated-2026march.pdf

U.S. Department of the Treasury Statement:
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0665/

Treasury Notice of Proposed Rulemaking:
https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-21675.pdf

Blaine Tobin
Community Associations Institute
+1 207-907-9487
btobin@caionline.org