I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8360 
To protect consumers from price-gouging of residential rental and sale prices, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 13, 2022 
Mr. HORSFORD (for himself, Mr. EVANS, and Ms. CASTOR of Florida) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Finan-
cial Services 
A BILL 
To protect consumers from price-gouging of residential rental 
and sale prices, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Housing Oversight and 
Mitigating Exploitation Act of 2022’’ or the ‘‘HOME Act 
of 2022’’. 
SEC. 2. UNCONSCIONABLE PRICING OF RESIDENTIAL 
RENTAL AND SALE PRICES DURING EMER-
GENCIES. 
(a) UNCONSCIONABLE PRICING.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for any 
person to rent out a dwelling unit or sell any single- 
family housing, in an area and during a period of a 
housing emergency covered by a proclamation issued 
under paragraph (2), at a price that— 
(A) is unconscionably excessive; and 
(B) indicates the lessor or seller is exploit-
ing the circumstances related to a housing 
emergency to increase prices unreasonably. 
(2) HOUSING EMERGENCY PROCLAMATION.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The President may 
issue a housing emergency proclamation for any 
area within the jurisdiction of the United 
States, during which the prohibition in para-
graph (1) shall apply, that includes the geo-
graphic area covered and the time period that 
such proclamation shall be in effect. 
(B) DURATION.—The proclamation— 
(i) may not apply for a period of more 
than 30 consecutive days, but may be re-
newed for such consecutive periods, each 
not to exceed 30 days, as the President de-
termines appropriate; and 
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(ii) may include a period of time not 
to exceed 1 week before a reasonably fore-
seeable emergency. 
(3) FACTORS CONSIDERED.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—In determining whether 
a person has violated paragraph (1), there shall 
be taken into account, among other factors, the 
aggravating factors described in subparagraph 
(B) and the mitigating factor described in sub-
paragraph (C). 
(B) AGGRAVATING FACTORS.—The aggra-
vating factors described in this subparagraph 
are the following: 
(i) Whether the amount charged by 
such person grossly exceeds the average 
price at which the housing unit was offered 
for rental or sale by such person during— 
(I) the 30-day period before the 
date on which the proclamation was 
issued; or 
(II) another appropriate bench-
mark period, as determined by the 
Administration. 
(ii) Whether the amount charged by 
such person grossly exceeds the price at 
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which the same or a similar housing unit 
was readily obtainable for rental or pur-
chase in the same area from other sellers 
during the energy emergency period. 
(C) MITIGATING FACTOR.—The mitigating 
factor described in this subparagraph is wheth-
er the quantity of any housing dwelling units 
such person made available for rental or sale in 
an area covered by the proclamation during the 
30-day period following the date on which the 
proclamation was issued increased over the 
quantity such person made available for rental 
or sale during the 30-day period before the date 
on which the proclamation was issued, taking 
into account any usual seasonal demand vari-
ation. 
(b) AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE.—It shall be an affirma-
tive defense in any civil action or administrative action to 
enforce subsection (a), with respect to the renting out or 
sale of housing by a person, that the increase in the rental 
or sale price of such housing reasonably reflects additional 
costs that were paid, incurred, or reasonably anticipated 
by such person, or reasonably reflects additional risks 
taken by such person, to rent or sell such housing unit 
under the circumstances. 
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(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This section may not 
be construed to cover a transaction on a futures market. 
(d) ENFORCEMENT.— 
(1) HUD.—The Secretary of Housing and 
Urban Development shall enforce violations of sub-
section (a) of this section— 
(A) in the same manner, by the same 
means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers, 
and duties as the Federal Trade Commission 
has under the Federal Trade Commission Act 
(15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) with respect to violations 
of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or 
practice prescribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of 
such Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)); and 
(B) as though all applicable terms and pro-
visions of the Federal Trade Commission Act 
were incorporated into and made a part of this 
section, except that any reference in such terms 
and provisions to the Commission shall be 
treated as referring to the Secretary. 
(2) ENFORCEMENT
AT
RETAIL
LEVEL
BY 
STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—If the chief law en-
forcement officer of a State, or an official or 
agency designated by a State, has reason to be-
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lieve that any person has violated or is violating 
subsection (a), the attorney general, official, or 
agency of the State, in addition to any author-
ity it may have to bring an action in State 
court under its laws, may bring a civil action in 
any appropriate United States district court or 
in any other court of competent jurisdiction 
to— 
(i) enjoin further such violation by 
such person; 
(ii) enforce compliance with such sub-
section; 
(iii) obtain civil penalties; and 
(iv) obtain damages, restitution, or 
other compensation on behalf of residents 
of the State. 
(B) NOTICE.—The State shall serve writ-
ten notice to the Secretary of any civil action 
under subparagraph (A) before initiating such 
civil action. The notice shall include a copy of 
the complaint to be filed to initiate such civil 
action, except that if it is not feasible for the 
State to provide such prior notice, the State 
shall provide such notice immediately upon in-
stituting such civil action. 
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(C) AUTHORITY
TO
INTERVENE.—Upon 
receipt of the notice required by subparagraph 
(B), the Secretary may intervene in such civil 
action and upon intervening— 
(i) be heard on all matters arising in 
such civil action; and 
(ii) file petitions for appeal of a deci-
sion in such civil action. 
(D) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of 
bringing any civil action under subparagraph 
(A), nothing in this paragraph shall prevent the 
attorney general of a State from exercising the 
powers conferred on the attorney general by the 
laws of such State to conduct investigations or 
to administer oaths or affirmations or to compel 
the attendance of witnesses or the production of 
documentary and other evidence. 
(E) LIMITATION ON STATE ACTION WHILE 
FEDERAL
ACTION
IS
PENDING.—If the Sec-
retary has instituted a civil action or an admin-
istrative action for violation of subsection (a), a 
State attorney general, or official or agency of 
a State, may not bring an action under this 
paragraph during the pendency of that action 
against any defendant named in the complaint 
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of the Secretary or another agency for any vio-
lation of this Act alleged in the complaint. 
(F) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This para-
graph may not be construed to prohibit an au-
thorized State official from proceeding in State 
court to enforce a civil or criminal statute of 
such State. 
(e) LOW-INCOME HOUSING ASSISTANCE.— 
(1) DEPOSIT OF FUNDS.—Amounts collected in 
any penalty under subsection (d)(1) shall be depos-
ited in the Housing Trust Fund established under 
section 1338 of the Federal Housing Enterprises Fi-
nancial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (12 
U.S.C. 4568). 
(2) USE OF FUNDS.—To the extent provided 
for in advance in appropriations Acts, the amounts 
deposited in the Fund shall be used to increase and 
preserve the supply of rental housing affordable to 
extremely low- and very low-income families, includ-
ing homeless families, in accordance with such sec-
tion 1338. 
(f) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.— 
(1) OTHER AUTHORITY OF FEDERAL HOUSING 
ADMINISTRATION.—Nothing in this section may be 
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construed to limit the authority of the Secretary 
under any other provision of law. 
(2) STATE LAW.—Nothing in this section pre-
empts any State law. 
SEC. 3. HUD INVESTIGATION AND REPORT ON HOUSING 
PRICES. 
(a) INVESTIGATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct 
an investigation to determine if the prices for rental 
housing units or sale of single-family housing are 
being manipulated by reducing housing capacity or 
by any other form of market manipulation or artifi-
cially increased by price gouging practices. 
(2) CONSIDERATION.—In conducting the inves-
tigation under paragraph (1), the Secretary may 
consider the impact of mergers and acquisitions in 
the real estate industry, including mergers and ac-
quisitions involving developers, managers, owners, 
and investors. 
(b) REPORT.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall submit to the Congress a report on the 
investigation conducted under subsection (a). 
(2) CONTENTS.—The report shall include— 
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