HB305: HB305 Protect the Dream Act; enact

Georgia currently places no special limits on who can buy single-family homes, including large institutional investors. House Bill 305, called the 'Protect the Dream Act,' would add a new section to Georgia's property law (O.C.G.A. § 44-5-49) that bans a 'prohibited business' from acquiring any interest in a single-family dwelling in the state. A 'prohibited business' is defined as a partnership, corporation, or real estate investment trust that pools investor money, acts as a fiduciary for those investors, and either holds at least $6,250,000 in total assets or owns interests in 25 or more single-family homes within a single county. Nonprofits and homebuilders who build or rehab homes without ties to a prohibited business are excluded from that definition. The ban would not apply to condos, townhouses, multifamily buildings, vacant homes acquired through foreclosure, or homes used as a primary residence by someone with an ownership stake in a prohibited business. The law would take effect July 1, 2025, and apply to home sales made on or after that date.

• Adds a new Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 44-5-49) that bans a defined 'prohibited business' from acquiring any interest in a single-family home in the state.
• Defines 'prohibited business' as an investor-pooling partnership, corporation, or real estate investment trust with at least $6,250,000 in assets or interests in 25 or more single-family homes in one county.
• Excludes nonprofits and independent homebuilders with no ties to a prohibited business from the ban.
• Exempts condos, townhouses, multifamily communities, vacant foreclosed homes, and owner-occupied primary residences tied to a prohibited business from the restriction.
• Sets the law to take effect July 1, 2025, applying only to home purchases made on or after that date.
• Repeals any existing Georgia laws that conflict with the new restriction.

Large institutional real estate investors, real estate investment trusts, and investment partnerships that buy single-family homes; homebuilders and nonprofit organizations, who are exempted; and Georgia homebuyers and sellers in the single-family housing market, including owners of manufactured home communities and mobile home parks.

If enacted, large investor groups meeting the asset or holdings thresholds would be legally blocked from buying single-family homes in Georgia, potentially reducing competition from institutional buyers in local housing markets and changing who can purchase homes, manufactured home communities, and mobile home parks after July 1, 2025.

• Section 1 names the bill the 'Protect the Dream Act.'
• Section 2 adds new Code Section 44-5-49, defining 'homebuilder,' 'interest,' 'prohibited business,' and 'single-family dwelling.'
• Section 2(b) states the core rule: a prohibited business shall not acquire an interest in any single-family dwelling in Georgia.
• The definition of 'prohibited business' sets specific thresholds: $6,250,000 in total assets or interests in at least 25 single-family dwellings in one county.
• Section 2 lists exclusions from the single-family dwelling definition, including condos, townhouses, multifamily communities, foreclosed vacant homes, and certain owner-occupied homes.
• Section 3 sets the effective date as July 1, 2025, applying to conveyances made on or after that date.
• Section 4 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2025-02-10House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-06House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-05House Hopper (House)

• Phil Olaleye (D, HD-059)Primary sponsor
• Brian Prince (D, HD-132)
• Yasmin Neal (D, HD-079)
• Anne Westbrook (D, HD-163)
• Joseph Gullett (R, HD-019)
• Esther Panitch (D, HD-051)

• housing market
• institutional investors
• real estate law
• single-family homes
• property conveyances