Cap rents for units financed under the Act at 25% of a household’s adjusted gross income and cannot increase more than 3% per year.
Cap rents for units financed under the Homes Act at 25 percent of household adjusted gross income and limit annual rent increases to no more than 3 percent.
Occurrences
Evidence
The Guardian reports that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Tina Smith introduced the Homes Act in the House and Senate, and that the proposal would set rents based on tenants' incomes and preserve permanent affordability.
A New York Post commentary on the proposal says Ocasio-Cortez and Smith would cap rents at 25% of household income, reflecting the rent-control design discussed around the Homes Act.
The report says Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Tina Smith introduced the Homes Act in the House and Senate. It describes the bill as creating a social housing program with income-based rents and permanently affordable purchase prices.
This report on the Homes Act says rents would not exceed 25% of tenants' income. It also frames the measure as a new legislative proposal rather than a law already in force.
The commentary describes Ocasio-Cortez and Smith's social-housing proposal as capping rents at 25% of household income, treating it as an unpassed plan rather than an enacted program.
Assessments
Smith appears to have materially advanced this promise by introducing the Homes Act in the Senate as a serious legislative effort. But the evidence consistently describes the 25%-of-income rent cap as part of a proposed bill, not an enacted federal program, and it does not show that the 3% annual rent-increase limit was ever put into force. In federal office context, sponsoring or introducing legislation counts as meaningful effort, but not as fulfillment when the promised policy was not enacted or implemented.
Tina Smith co-sponsored and introduced the Homes Act with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2024, and reporting describes an income-based rent structure, but the evidence does not show the bill was enacted or that the specific 25% AGI cap and 3% annual increase limit were ever implemented. This was a serious legislative attempt, not a delivered outcome.