Bill > H3121

This bill aims to discourage large investors, such as hedge funds, from dominating the residential real estate market in Massachusetts by implementing a progressive taxation strategy on entities owning multiple small residential properties (1-4 dwelling units). The legislation establishes an excise tax for applicable taxpayers who exceed a gradually decreasing maximum number of permissible small properties over a nine-year period, with large investors (those managing $10 million or more in assets) facing more stringent restrictions. For each property over the permitted limit, an applicable taxpayer would be taxed $10 million, with the collected revenue deposited into a new Housing Down Payment Trust Fund. The fund will provide grants to first-time homebuyers to help them purchase small properties, effectively redistributing resources from large investors to individual homeowners. The bill includes specific provisions defining terms like "disqualified sale" (sales to corporations or non-occupant individuals), exempts certain properties like nonprofit-owned or federally funded housing, and requires annual reporting on property ownership and transfers. The goal is to make residential real estate more accessible to individual homeowners by creating financial disincentives for large-scale institutional property acquisition.

Budget and Finance

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H3121