Homes for Families, Not Funds: Texas HB 1073

Wall Street wants your neighbor's house. A new Texas bill says no. Insurance companies and big funds would have to stop buying homes to rent back to you.

Plain English summary

On November 10, 2026, State Rep. Mizani filed House Bill 1073 for the 90th Legislature. (FACT, HB 1073 bill history)

The caption reads: "Relating to restrictions on the acquisition of single-family residential property by insurance companies and other institutional investors; providing a civil penalty." (FACT, bill history)

Here is what the bill does, in plain words.

It adds a new Subchapter I to Chapter 5 of the Texas Property Code. (FACT, HB 1073 introduced text)

It creates a "covered institutional investor." That means any one of these:

An insurance company, or a company it controls.

A business with at least $100 million in total assets, counting its affiliates.

A business that owns or controls 100 or more single-family homes anywhere in the United States.

An agent, trust, or front acting for any of the above.

(FACT, HB 1073 text, Sec. 5.301)

A covered investor "may not purchase or otherwise acquire" a single-family home in Texas "for an investment purpose." That means buying it mainly for rent, appreciation, or resale profit. (FACT, Sec. 5.301 and 5.302)

It counts homes and assets across affiliates, so a fund cannot split purchases among shell companies to slip under the line. It applies no matter what state or country the investor is from. (FACT, Sec. 5.302)

The exceptions

The bill does not touch:

A family buying a home to live in.

The state, a city, a housing authority, or a 501(c)(3) nonprofit running an affordable housing or homeownership program.

A builder who builds a new home and sells it to someone who will live in it.

A lender that takes a home through foreclosure, as long as it puts the home up for sale within 24 months.

A company housing its own employees temporarily.

(FACT, Sec. 5.303)

Homes these companies already own before September 1, 2027 are not forced onto the market. Existing leases can be renewed. (FACT, Sec. 5.307)

The teeth

Before closing, a business buying a single-family home would have to sign a written certification saying it is not a covered investor, or naming the exception it is using. It keeps that paper for four years. (FACT, Sec. 5.304)

Sellers, brokers, title companies, and county clerks do not have to investigate that certification. They are not on the hook unless they knowingly lie. (FACT, Sec. 5.304)

The Attorney General can sue in the county where the home sits. The civil penalty is up to $100,000 or 20 percent of the purchase price, whichever is greater, for each home. (FACT, Sec. 5.305)

A court can order the investor to sell the home within 180 days to a buyer who is allowed to own it. If it refuses, a receiver sells it. (FACT, Sec. 5.306)

Innocent sellers, tenants, and later buyers are protected. (FACT, Sec. 5.306)

It would take effect September 1, 2027. (FACT, Section 5)

Why it matters

Texas families keep hearing the same thing. Prices are up. Rent is up. Starter homes are gone.

Reporting from across the state has tied part of that frustration to big investors buying single-family homes, and other reporting argues a ban would not bring prices down. (DOCUMENTED INFERENCE, Click2Houston, March 2026)

That is exactly why this bill deserves a hearing in the open. Not a backroom.

The bill also cites a federal statute, 42 U.S.C. Section 19521, and says it adds to federal law, not replaces it. (FACT, Sec. 5.307)

The receipt

Bill: HB 1073, 90th Legislature, Regular Session. (FACT)

Author: Mizani. (FACT)

Filed: November 10, 2026. (FACT)

Last action: filed. No committee, no hearing, no vote yet. (FACT, bill history as of November 11, 2026)

What Ryan says

I want East Texas kids to be able to buy a house in the town they grew up in.

That gets harder when the guy bidding against them is a fund with deep pockets and no address in Gregg County.

A home is not a stock ticker. It is where you raise a family.

So I like where this bill is pointed. (RYAN STATEMENT)

But I want the receipts before anybody votes.

How many Texas homes do these companies own right now? Which counties? What does the Attorney General need to enforce it? Does a $100 million line catch a local builder with a few rental houses? (RYAN STATEMENT)

Show me the evidence. Then write the law to match it.

What this does not prove

It does not prove the bill will pass. It was just filed.

It does not prove institutional investors caused high home prices in East Texas. That is a debate, and the bill does not settle it. (DOCUMENTED INFERENCE)

It does not tell us how many Texas homes would be affected. No fiscal note has been posted yet. (FACT, bill history)

It does not force anyone to sell a home they already own.

What it does prove

A Texas lawmaker put a real ban, with real penalties, in writing.

It names insurers, $100 million firms, and 100-home landlords.

It keeps families, builders, nonprofits, and lenders out of the crosshairs.

And it puts enforcement in the hands of the Attorney General.

This is the record.

The bottom line

Your home should go to a family, not a portfolio.

Read the bill. Find out where your representative stands. Make them say it out loud.

Do not threaten anyone. Do not harass anyone. Do not contact anyone in my name. Read it. Share it. Send receipts, evidence, witnesses. Put eyes on the record.