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Read. Follow. Verify.Idaho House Bill 947 prohibits single-family home purchases by institutional investors and restricts foreign land ownership
Last action · March 25, 2026: Reported Printed and Referred to Business
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What This Bill Proposed
Beginning July 1, 2026, s are prohibited from purchasing single-family homes in Idaho, and foreign adversaries are restricted from acquiring agricultural land, forest land, water rights, mining claims, and mineral rights. Violators must divest within 180 days or face and court-ordered sale initiated by the attorney general. Whistleblowers who report foreign ownership violations leading to asset sales are entitled to a 30% reward from the proceeds.
The measure alters property ownership rules by barring multi-member corporate entities and specific foreign principals from acquiring certain residential and natural resource properties, enforcing compliance through mandatory divestiture, receiverships, and whistleblower financial incentives.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Institutional investors
Multi-member corporate entities purchasing single-family homes for profit are prohibited from acquiring new properties and must divest non-compliant holdings within 180 days.
Foreign principals and foreign governments
Foreign entities and governments from designated adversarial nations are barred from acquiring controlling interests in agricultural land, forest land, water rights, mining claims, and mineral rights.
Whistleblowers
Individuals who report illegal foreign land ownership leading to asset sales are entitled to a 30% reward from the proceeds.
Home builders
Entities primarily engaged in constructing new single-family homes for individual buyers are explicitly exempted from the institutional investor definition.
Key Facts
- Starting July 1, 2026, institutional investors are prohibited from purchasing or acquiring controlling interests in single-family homes in Idaho.
- An institutional investor is defined as any multi-member corporate structure purchasing dwellings for profit, excluding home builders, remodelers, natural persons, families, trusts, nonprofits, land trusts, tribal housing, and certain lenders.
- Institutional investors acquiring single-family homes on or after July 1, 2026, must divest the property within 180 days.
- If an institutional investor fails to divest, the attorney general must file an action in district court leading to a judicial foreclosure sale.
Show all 9 facts
- Foreign governments and state-controlled enterprises are prohibited from purchasing or holding controlling interests in agricultural land, forest land, water rights, mining claims, or mineral rights.
- Foreign principals from foreign adversaries are barred from holding more than a de minimis indirect interest in agricultural land, water rights, mining claims, or mineral rights.
- Foreign principals owning agricultural land must register with the Idaho State Department of Agriculture within 60 days of the act's effective date or acquisition.
- Foreign principals owning mining claims or mineral rights must register with the Idaho Department of Lands and the Idaho Secretary of State within 60 days.
- Whistleblowers reporting violations regarding foreign ownership are entitled to a reward equal to 30% of the net proceeds resulting from a successful asset sale.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an institutional investor under this bill?
Are foreign pension funds restricted from owning agricultural or forest land?
How do whistleblowers benefit from reporting foreign ownership violations?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
2 actions- Mar 25, 2026CommitteeReported Printed and Referred to Business
- Mar 25, 2026IntroducedIntroduced, read first time, referred to JRA for Printing
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Dual Restrictions on Corporate and Foreign Property Ownership
The bill combines domestic institutional investor prohibitions in residential housing with strict foreign adversary bans on agricultural, forest, and mineral assets.
Connected Entities
Sources
legislature.idaho.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 85)
- Controversy75Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment15Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz70Current news / social attention level
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