KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – Knox County is hoping to crack down on hedge funds buying up large numbers of single-family homes.
County commission is planning to consider an ordinance that would bring penalties to any person, or their affiliates, who buy more than 100 homes to put on the market as rental properties.
The ordinance is on the preliminary agenda for May’s commission meeting. It includes a list of penalties for anyone or any business found to be in violation of it.
Those penalties include charging a $100 fine, per home, for anyone violating it. The ordinance also allows the county’s law director and the Tennessee attorney general to file civil complaints against offenders, which could open the door to more penalties, like tens of thousands of dollars in damages.
The state legislature considered similar legislation, but didn’t pass it. The state version of the “Homes Not Hedge Funds’” failing to pass it what prompted the county to consider the ordinance.
Commission is expected to meet May 18 at 5 p.m.
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