We track funding rounds, acquisitions, product launches, partnerships, policy and market data across multifamily, rental housing and proptech in the US and Canada. This page is updated several times a day, newest stories first, and every story links to its original source.
Representatives Maxwell Alejandro Frost, Gabe Vasquez and Rashida Tlaib sent Brookfield a letter on Oct. 13 about its acquisition of Yes Communities, a manufactured housing portfolio of 294 communities in 23 states bought from Singapore's GIC, Bisnow reported. The lawmakers cited tenant complaints about rent increases, fees and maintenance, and asked Brookfield to disclose whether it plans annual rent increases above 3%, explain its fee policies and commit to avoiding serial eviction filings. The letter asked Brookfield to respond by Nov. 20, and Frost's office said it had not replied as of mid-November. The purchase price has not been disclosed.
Cosign sued TheGuarantors in federal court in Delaware on Nov. 12, alleging it holds at least 66% of a national market for rental approval services through exclusive dealing arrangements with landlords, Bloomberg Law reported. The claims are allegations and have not been tested in court. The suit follows a case TheGuarantors filed against Cosign in Georgia in October, alleging that Cosign operates as an unlicensed insurer.
Illinois Public Act 104-0479 amends the state's Landlord and Tenant Act for leases and renewals entered into after it takes effect on Jan. 1, 2027, law firm Clark Hill reported. All non-optional fees must appear on the first page of the lease or tenants are not liable for them, listings must disclose mandatory fees and whether utilities are included, and application fees including background checks are capped at $50 with limited exceptions. The law bans fees for renewals, eviction notices or filings before a court order, routine or after-hours maintenance, maintenance hotlines, pest control not caused by the tenant and move-in or move-out walkthroughs, while owner-occupied buildings with six or fewer units are exempt.
Build-to-rent units under construction fell 18.5% year over year in the third quarter, completions fell 40.2% and community sales volume dropped 51.5%, according to National Apartment Association data cited by HousingWire. Executives including QuinnResidences CEO Richard Ross and Amherst CEO Sean Dobson said capital has not fully returned after the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, even though the final law carved build-to-rent out of its institutional investor ban. They pointed to Treasury's October proposed rules, including an 18-month purchase window from certificate of occupancy that Ross called too short, and to the possibility of further federal or state ownership limits. NAA's Owen Caine said he expects bipartisan resistance to new restrictions.
Compass has asked a federal court in Manhattan to dismiss an amended antitrust complaint alleging that its acquisitions created a monopoly and that pulling its rental listings from StreetEasy in August raised rents and broker fees, HousingWire reported. Compass argues the plaintiffs confuse the sales and rental markets, that it does not own rentals or set rents, and that New York's FARE Act explains the drop in visible rental inventory. It is seeking dismissal with prejudice and a stay of discovery, and the plaintiff's response is due Dec. 8.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, which requires owners of certain multifamily buildings to notify the city before a sale and gives eligible nonprofits a right of first refusal, Propmodo reported. The law takes effect in November 2027 and covers about 2,100 buildings, including distressed properties with four or more units and smaller buildings with affordability restrictions, down from 10,000 in the original proposal. Eligible nonprofits get 20 days to submit a statement of interest and 70 days to make an initial offer, and they keep their right of first refusal if a private buyer makes a competing bid. Critics quoted by Propmodo say the process adds delays without improving deal economics, while lead sponsor Council Member Sandy Nurse says it helps preserve existing housing.
The Senate advanced the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 in a 73-25 procedural vote, setting it up for further debate, Multifamily Dive reported. The bill focuses mainly on energy and infrastructure, but it would exempt many HUD- and USDA-supported housing projects from federal historic preservation reviews and generally limit them to streamlined environmental reviews, affecting about $10 billion a year in programs such as CDBG and HOME. It would also streamline Clean Water Act reviews, which the outlet said could cut costs by up to about $425,000 per project. The National Apartment Association, the National Association of Home Builders and YIMBY Action have backed the housing provisions.
Chula Vista's City Council approved a request on Oct. 27 from Councilmember Michael Inzunza for staff to review parts of the city's 2022 Tenant Protection Ordinance that could delay the removal of tenants involved in serious misconduct, KPBS reported. The request followed an October fight at the Casa Lago apartments in Eastlake that led to six arrests. Possible changes are expected to return to the council by late January, while the city attorney said evictions themselves fall under state jurisdiction.
Voters in several states decided housing-related ballot measures in the November midterms, Multifamily Dive reported. California approved Proposition 1, an $11.25 billion housing bond with about $7.2 billion for affordable multifamily programs according to the National Apartment Association, while Proposition 45, which would have sped up environmental review for housing, narrowly failed. Florida's Amendment 3 lowers the annual cap on assessed-value increases for non-homestead property such as apartment buildings from 10% to 5%, and Rhode Island approved $120 million in affordable housing bonds. Massachusetts voters narrowly rejected Question 7, which would have required jurisdictions to allow single-family homes on smaller lots.
The federal budget tabled Nov. 5 by Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne includes an exception to the EIFEL interest-deductibility limits for purpose-built rental housing, according to an analysis by law firm McCarthy Tétrault. The exception covers interest and financing costs incurred before 2036 on money borrowed to acquire, build or convert property into purpose-built rentals in Canada. It is broader than the earlier proposal, extending to borrowing used by another entity in the same related or affiliated group or by a partnership in which the group holds at least a 40% interest.
The Justice Department told the federal court in North Carolina on Nov. 5 that its proposed final judgment with property manager Willow Bridge, part of the government's RealPage pricing case, remains an appropriate remedy and should be entered as proposed. DOJ received two public comments, both from individual renters, asking for changes such as limits on renewal pricing, a broader audit, a public annual report and monetary relief. The department rejected each request, noting that the judgment's data limits also apply to renewals, that it can inspect Willow Bridge's software code and that the complaint did not seek restitution.
Early returns showed more than 59% of Tacoma, Washington, voters supporting Initiative Measure 1, known as Safe Homes for All, KOMO News reported on Nov. 4. The measure creates a rental licensing system funded by per-unit fees, raises penalties for violations of tenant protection laws, creates a public database of landlords and rent increases, and requires landlords to negotiate in good faith with tenant unions. Large landlords and repeat offenders would have 18 months to comply and others three years. The Rental Housing Association of Washington opposed the measure, and the city manager estimated enforcement and legal costs of $8 million to $10 million a year, a figure supporters dispute.
HUD issued Mortgagee Letter 2026-13 on Nov. 2, creating an Express Lane for FHA Section 221(d)(4) new-construction loans on 4% and 9% LIHTC deals, effective immediately, according to an alert from law firm Nixon Peabody. Eligible sponsors need at least three stabilized LIHTC deals in the past five years, $1 million in liquidity and $5 million in net worth, with experience thresholds also set for general contractors, architects and management agents. The initiative drops the earlier pilot's unit cap and 25% developer fee deferral requirement, restores the standard 80% loan-to-cost limit and keeps a 30-day target for firm commitment decisions. Projects with Section 8 project-based rental assistance are excluded, and standard underwriting thresholds still apply.
A federal judge in Nashville has approved class settlements in the private antitrust case over RealPage's pricing software, bringing payments to renters to nearly $360 million, Multifamily Dive reported. The total comes from two rounds: more than $141.8 million from 27 landlords in October 2025 and $218 million from 11 landlords in May 2026. No defendant admitted liability, and settling owners agreed to stop giving RealPage nonpublic data and to stop using the software in ways that rely on competitors' nonpublic data. Claims against non-settling defendants are not affected.
