This brief provides a review of policies at the federal, state, and local levels intended to address institutional investor–owned single-family rentals (IISFRs) and the limited research on the impact of these policies.

Why this matterS

With an increase in the number of large institutional owners in the single-family rental (SFR) market, policymakers have started to think about impacts that such owners may have on rental affordability, the housing stock available for purchase, and tenant stability, among other issues, particularly for households with lower incomes and households of color.

What we found

• Emerging research generally shows institutional owners are geographically concentrated in Sun Belt cities, neighborhoods with proportionally greater shares of Black residents at the intra-metro level, and that these owners may file for eviction more frequently than local owners with smaller portfolios. The evidence impact on the supply of affordable single-family homes is mixed. These supply trends and tenant outcomes also likely vary substantially by the type of institutionally owner, a factor that is often overlooked in current research.
• There are few national policies aimed at regulating institutional ownership.
• State and local policies aimed at regulating institutional ownership generally offer increased opportunities to purchase single-family homes by non-institutional entities, limiting or financially penalizing institutional purchasing, and mandating wait times between purchasing and renting.
• We lack clear data about the institutional single family rental market. This creates a challenge for understanding how institutional ownership may pose unique challenges or opportunities for local housing markets and renters.