Residential
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July 22, 2024
EPA Awards $4.3B In Grants For Climate Change Projects
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it's steering $4.3 billion in grant funding to 25 projects that promise to help curb greenhouse gas pollution, advance environmental justice and transition the country to clean power.
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July 22, 2024
Pretium Raises $1.5B For Investing In Single-Family Rentals
Investment firm Pretium raised $1.5 billion for its sixth single-family housing fund, surpassing its fundraising goal with investments from U.S. pension plans, insurers, U.S. wealth managers and others, the firm announced Monday.
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July 22, 2024
New Precedent, New Fate For NAR 'Cooperation' Rule Suit
A California federal judge reversed course Monday and revived a lawsuit, tossed in 2021, targeting National Association of Realtors rules that prevent real estate agents from listing properties outside their affiliated networks, after an intervening Ninth Circuit decision redirected the product market in question.
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July 22, 2024
Colo. Judge Blocks Zoning Ban On Church's Shelter Program
A Colorado federal judge preliminarily blocked a town from enforcing zoning regulations to prevent a church from allowing homeless people to live in RVs on church property, finding the church could likely prove such enforcement unlawfully violates its religious freedom.
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July 22, 2024
Greystar Can Arbitrate Security Deposit Claims, Judge Says
A California federal judge ruled that Greystar can arbitrate the claims of a named plaintiff in a putative class action that accuses the real estate company of wrongfully withholding its former tenants' security deposits.
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July 22, 2024
Nationwide Seeks Travelers' Aid In Hot Tub Illness Row
Nationwide told a California federal court a Travelers unit must help defend a condominium association in an underlying lawsuit brought by a resident alleging he needed a double lung transplant because of hot tub contaminants, arguing Travelers' pollution exclusion and fungi or bacteria exclusion didn't apply.
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July 22, 2024
NAR Economists See Light Amidst Continuing Slow Sales
Even as sales of existing homes reached a low not seen since 1995, the recent growth of new home inventory may be an early positive indicator if other conditions — including interest rates — improve, National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said Monday.
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July 22, 2024
Invitation Homes Reaches $20M Deal To End Permit Fee Suit
Invitation Homes agreed to pay nearly $20 million to end claims that the single-family rental giant defrauded California cities by failing to pay permitting fees when the company carried out renovations on housing properties, according to federal court filings Monday.
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July 22, 2024
Ill. Imposes 20-Year Time Limit On Property Tax Refund Claims
A 20-year time limit was set on refund requests that result from final orders of the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board under a bill signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
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July 22, 2024
'Wolf Of Airbnb' Gets 51 Mos. As Judge Sees Lack Of Remorse
A Manhattan federal judge hit the Florida man who styled himself the "Wolf of Airbnb" with over four years in prison Monday, saying the risk is high that he will break the law again after scamming New York City landlords.
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July 22, 2024
Walker & Dunlop Steers $285.5M Refi For Pa. Student Housing
Walker & Dunlop arranged $285.5 million in refinancing for two Philadelphia student housing properties owned by developer The Goldenberg Group and located on the campus of Temple University, according to a Monday announcement.
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July 22, 2024
2 Firms Rep $1.25B PE Takeover Of Senior Living Co.
Alternative investment firm Stonepeak bought up New Zealand retirement village company Arvida Group Ltd. for $1.25 billion, in an all-cash deal guided by New Zealand-based law firms Bell Gully and Chapman Tripp, according to a Monday announcement.
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July 22, 2024
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Fried Frank and Greenberg Traurig are among the law firms that landed work on the largest New York City real estate deals to hit public records last week, a busy period that saw 10 transactions above the $20 million mark become public.
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July 22, 2024
Orange County's Shrinking Multifamily Vacancies Taper Off
Second-quarter multifamily housing vacancies in California's Orange County reached a rate of 3.9%, and didn't significantly shift from the first quarter of the year, according to a CBRE report.
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July 19, 2024
Property Plays: Barings, Blackstone, Tishman Speyer
Property Plays is a weekly roundup of the latest loans, leases, sales and projects around the country. Send your tips — all confidential — to realestate@law360.com.
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July 19, 2024
Credit Rater Presses 4th Circ. To Trash Developers' Libel Suit
Credit rating firm Dun & Bradstreet has asked the Fourth Circuit to scrap a group of apartment development companies' libel lawsuit, telling the court that nothing in a credit score was provably false.
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July 19, 2024
Bank Regulators Ask 5th Circ. To Unfreeze New Lending Rules
Federal banking regulators have urged the Fifth Circuit to rescind a Texas district court's injunction blocking implementation of new community lending rules, arguing in a filing that the district court's finding essentially rewrote the Community Reinvestment Act.
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July 19, 2024
Calif. Justices Revive Row Over State Farm's Claims Handling
California's Supreme Court revived a policyholder's case over State Farm's claims-handling practices, reversing an appeals court decision and agreeing with the state's attorney general that California's statute of limitations on unfair competition actions, not the policy or insurance code, governed the timing of the case.
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July 19, 2024
Pa. Judge Orders Accused RE Fraudster To Pretrial Detention
A Pennsylvania federal judge has ordered an accused real estate fraudster to pretrial detention, finding that his previously undisclosed ties to Panama and the fact that he is charged with using fake identities in furtherance of an alleged scheme make him a flight risk.
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July 19, 2024
Pa. Bill Seeks Tax Exclusion For Affordable Housing Projects
Pennsylvania would exclude affordable housing projects developed through the federal Rental Assistance Demonstration program from the state's realty transfer tax under a bill introduced in the state Senate.
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July 19, 2024
San Francisco Lawmaker Floats Rent Algorithm Software Ban
A San Francisco lawmaker proposed a ban that would prohibit selling or using software that can be used for rent price fixing, and took aim at property management software companies such as RealPage and Yardi for their software allegedly being used for such a purpose.
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July 19, 2024
Property Management Group Pays $304K For OT Violations
A Florida property management group paid nearly $304,000 in back wages, damages and fines for denying 92 workers overtime pay, the U.S. Department of Labor announced.
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July 18, 2024
Conn. Justices Order Redo Of Apartment Tenant's Fee Award
The Connecticut Supreme Court on Thursday gave a landlord another shot at reducing a $3,500 attorney fee award scored by a tenant in an eviction dispute, holding that the lower court failed to consider whether the total was reasonable under the relevant fee shifting statute.
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July 18, 2024
New IRS Easement Settlements Put Tax Pros In A Pickle
The IRS' new settlement program for partnerships that participated in conservation easements that haven't yet ended up in court comes with terms far sweeter than past offers, making it difficult for practitioners to advise clients to take the deal or wait for a better one.
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July 18, 2024
DR Horton Says Business Is Steady Amid Housing Crisis
Homebuilding giant D.R. Horton told shareholders July 18 that its business remained steady in 2024's third quarter despite the current housing affordability crisis.
Expert Analysis
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Property Owner Considerations Around Electric Vehicle Bans
In light of a property management company's recent ban on electric vehicles in Canada, it's worth considering how similar bans might fare in Florida and other U.S. states, and the legal ramifications that could potentially arise, say Gerardo Ortega and Gary Kaleita at Lowndes.
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Trump NY Fraud Trial Shows Civil, Criminal Case Differences
Former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial currently unfolding in New York provides a reminder that civil bench trials can be just as damaging, if not more so, than criminal prosecutions, due to several key elements of civil litigation procedure, says retired attorney David Moskowitz.
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Why NYC Building Owners Shouldn't Ignore Emissions Rule
New rules from the New York City Department of Buildings clarify the previously vague good faith efforts that building owners may make to mitigate penalties for not complying with a major carbon emission law that takes effect in January, and should discourage owners from simply paying the fines instead of decarbonizing, says William McCracken at Moritt Hock.
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What NJ's Green Remediation Guidance Means For Cleanups
Recent guidance from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection promoting greener approaches to restoring contaminated sites demonstrates the state's commitment to sustainability and environmental justice — but could also entail more complexity, higher costs and longer remediation timelines, say J. Michael Showalter and Bradley Rochlen at ArentFox Schiff.
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A New Path Forward For Surplus Land Owners In Calif.
A new California law signed last month enables some religious institutions and nonprofit colleges to build affordable housing on surplus land, and its requirements — which are more manageable than they may appear — will support long-term benefits including good housing and the survival of worthy institutions, says Stephen Wilson at Withers.
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Inside Bank Regulators' Community Lending Law Overhaul
The federal banking agencies' recently finalized changes to the Community Reinvestment Act not only account for the gradual shift to an environment where lending and deposit-taking are primarily conducted online, but also implement other updates such as diversity initiatives and a new series of lending tests, say attorneys at Norton Rose.
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A Bird's Eye View Of NYC's New Parapet Inspection Law
Building owners in New York City should be ready for the city's new parapet inspection requirements going into effect in January, which will likely necessitate additional construction work for countless buildings not previously subject to formal inspections, says Benjamin Fox Tracy at Braverman Greenspun.
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AI Isn't The Wild West, So Prepare Now For Bias Risks
In addition to President Joe Biden's recent historic executive order on safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence, there are existing federal and state laws prohibiting fraud, defamation and even discrimination, so companies considering using or developing AI should take steps to minimize legal and business risks, says civil rights attorney Farhana Khera.
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AI's Baked-In Bias: What To Watch Out For
The federal AI executive order is a direct acknowledgment of the perils of inherent bias in artificial intelligence systems, and highlights the need for legal professionals to thoroughly vet AI systems, including data and sources, algorithms and AI training methods, and more, say Jonathan Hummel and Jonathan Talcott at Ballard Spahr.
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Calif. Ruling May Open Bankruptcy Trustees To Tort Liability
In Martin v. Gladstone, a recent California appellate court decision, the application of tort concepts to bankruptcy trustees could pose a new concern for trustees and federal receivers when controlling and maintaining commercial property, says Jarrett Osborne-Revis at Buchalter.
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5th Circ. Ruling May Beget Fraud Jury Instruction Appeals
The Fifth Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Greenlaw decision, disapproving disjunctive fraudulent-intent jury instructions, will likely spawn appeals in mail, wire and securities fraud cases, but defendants must show that their deception furthered ends other than taking the victim's property, says Charles Fowler at McKool Smith.
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Considerations For Navigating Mixed-Use Developments
As mixed-use developments continue to rise in popularity, developers considering this approach to urban planning must be aware of key considerations ranging from title and zoning laws to proper engagement with stakeholders, says Mehdi Sinaki at Michelman & Robinson.
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1st Tax Easement Convictions Will Likely Embolden DOJ, IRS
After recent convictions in the first criminal tax fraud trial over allegedly abusive syndicated conservation easements, the IRS and U.S. Department of Justice will likely pursue other promoters for similar alleged conspiracies — though one acquittal may help attorneys better evaluate their clients' exposure, say Bill Curtis and Lauren DeSantis-Then at Polsinelli.