The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is asking for public comments about proposed information requests aimed at large Single-Family Rental (SFR) owner operators, known as mega investors, who own over 1,000 rental properties. These requests are intended to help the FTC study the impact of such large investors on housing competition, prices, and their influence on local markets. The FTC plans to gather data about these companies' business models, property holdings, and pricing strategies, with the goal of increasing market transparency and possibly informing future regulatory actions. Public comments will be considered before the FTC requests approval from the Office of Management and Budget to proceed with this data collection.
Simple Explanation
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wants to ask big companies that own a lot of houses for rent to share information about how they do business and set prices, so they can see if these companies make it harder for people to find and afford homes. They also want people to share their thoughts on this plan, before getting permission to officially collect the data.