Residential
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January 02, 2026
NJ Panel Tosses Newark Property Claims, Cites 'Unclean Hands'
A New Jersey state appeals court backed the permanent dismissal of claims, crossclaims and counterclaims involving business agreements over a Newark residential property, ruling Friday that a lower court rightfully determined that sham filings and unscrupulous behavior meant the case had been invalidated under the "unclean hands" doctrine.
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January 02, 2026
Top Property Insurance Trends To Watch In 2026
Homeowners insurance investigations, a novel climate suit accusing oil majors of contributing to high premiums, and a California action accusing carriers of collusion are some of the top property insurance matters attorneys will be watching next year.
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January 02, 2026
Mass. Home Rightly Valued As Completed, Board Says
A Massachusetts home cannot have its property value lowered despite the homeowner's assertion that the home was not fully built at the time of the assessment, the state tax board ruled.
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January 02, 2026
Hawaii Property Tax Appeal Is Untimely, State Justices Affirm
A Hawaii vacation homeowner failed to appeal his property's tax assessment through the correct channels and is now time-barred from doing so, the Hawaii Supreme Court said.
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January 02, 2026
Silicon Valley City Planners, Landowners Settle Antitrust Suit
A company associated with a group of wealthy Silicon Valley business owners who are working on building a minicity has settled its antitrust suit against the last few local landowners that were facing the company's claims in California federal court.
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January 02, 2026
Ind. House Bill Would Allow Municipal Tax On Shorter Rentals
Indiana would authorize municipalities to impose an innkeeper's tax on the rental of rooms and other accommodations in hotels and motels for less than 30 days under a bill filed in the state House of Representatives.
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January 02, 2026
Outgoing NYC Mayor Vetoes Nonprofit Resi Purchase Bill
Outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams vetoed a bill in his final hours as mayor that would have granted some nonprofit housing companies the first shot at purchasing specific residential buildings or land zoned for residential use.
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December 23, 2025
Blackstone's LivCor Latest To Settle Rent Price-Fixing Claims
LivCor LLC, a subsidiary of Blackstone, has agreed to a proposed settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice that would resolve allegations the landlord used RealPage's revenue management software to fix rent prices, according to a proposed consent decree filed in North Carolina federal court Tuesday.
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December 23, 2025
OCC Wants To Preempt State Mortgage Escrow Interest Laws
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has unveiled a pair of proposals aiming to, among other things, preempt state laws requiring banks it regulates to make interest payments for escrow accounts connected to certain types of residential mortgage loans, calling it a "critical tool for reducing unnecessary burden."
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December 23, 2025
CFPB Shifts Focus To Debanking, Intentional Discrimination
To align with objections set by the Trump administration, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is turning its attention to "debanking" moving forward and has closed all open investigations that were based on disparate impact liability or unintentional discrimination.
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December 23, 2025
JLL Closes $142M Wash. Luxury Apartment Community Sale
JLL Capital Markets announced that it has wrapped up a $142 million sale of a 383-unit Lynnwood, Washington, luxury apartment community, along with a related $83.177 million acquisition financing deal.
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December 23, 2025
20 Years Later: How A Pink House Reshaped Takings Law
The U.S. Supreme Court's 2005 holding in the controversial eminent domain case Kelo v. New London remains intact despite multiple challenges to urban development projects, but its unpopularity has spurred most states to spend the past 20 years reshaping their land-taking laws.
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December 23, 2025
Paul Hastings Guides Mavik's $685M Real Estate Fundraise
Credit-focused investment firm Mavik, advised by Paul Hastings LLP, said Tuesday it has closed its second real estate fund focused on special situations and overlooked assets at $685 million, surpassing the vehicle's target.
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December 22, 2025
DOJ Targets Trade Groups, Again, In Real Estate Amicus
Trump administration antitrust enforcers put up their latest marker against trade associations Friday in a Justice Department statement of interest telling a Pennsylvania federal court that the country's largest privately held real estate brokerage is raising defenses against an antitrust lawsuit that would make such suits "unjustifiably harder."
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December 22, 2025
4 Real Estate Sectors To Watch In 2026
Real estate attorneys are expecting trends that surfaced this year to continue and strengthen in 2026, and are keeping a close eye on a few sectors, including data centers and sports real estate development.
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December 22, 2025
Sallie Mae Investor Sues Over Late Student Loan Payments
Sallie Mae is facing a possible class action in New Jersey that accuses the company and its top executives of committing securities fraud by underselling an increase in student loan delinquencies.
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December 22, 2025
Jury Deadlocks In Ex-NY Gov. Aide's Foreign Agent Case
A Brooklyn federal judge on Monday declared a mistrial in a case alleging a former top aide to two New York governors did the bidding of the People's Republic of China at the highest levels of state government in exchange for millions of dollars, after the jury deadlocked on all charges.
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December 22, 2025
Downtown NYC Office-To-Resi Project Lands $867M Financing
A 30-story, office-to-residential conversion project in Lower Manhattan's Financial District, the largest of its kind, has secured an $867 million financing package from an array of lenders, borrower-side broker Walker & Dunlop announced Monday.
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December 22, 2025
Calif. Judge Moves Insurance Compliance Co.'s Antitrust Suit
A California federal judge has transferred an artificial intelligence-driven insurance compliance company's antitrust suit against a property management software company to a different California federal court.
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December 22, 2025
Abrams Fensterman Leader Takes Practice To Tarter Krinsky
Tarter Krinsky & Drogin has hired a former Abrams Fensterman LLP partner who helped lead that firm's practice focused on cooperative and condominium work, as chair of its own cooperatives and condominiums practice, the firm recently announced.
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December 19, 2025
PHH's $29.5M Kickback Deal Gets Final OK After 17 Years
After 17 years of litigation, a certified class of homeowners got the final stamp of approval in California federal court for a $29.5 million settlement with PHH Mortgage and its captive reinsurer, both of which homeowners alleged received unlawful kickbacks from premiums paid for mortgage insurance.
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December 19, 2025
Calif. Appeals Court Upholds Los Angeles' Mansion Tax
A property transfer tax that adds 4% to 5.5% to the cost of Los Angeles real estate deals of more than $5 million is legal under the U.S. and California constitutions, a state appeals panel ruled, upholding a trial court.
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December 19, 2025
Insurer Says No Coverage For Fla. Condo Evacuation Suits
An insurer said it owes no coverage to a condo complex in 23 suits brought by unit owners who say they were forced to evacuate because the complex failed to maintain safe structural conditions, telling a Florida federal court the property damage began prior to the policy.
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December 19, 2025
Bill Shields Public Housing Tenants Using Legal Pot
A pair of Democratic lawmakers from the House and Senate have introduced a bill that would prohibit landlords who take federal funding from evicting tenants or denying applicants just because they use or possess marijuana in a state where it is legal.
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December 19, 2025
Dems Push For Scrutiny Of Compass' $1.6B Anywhere Buy
Democratic senators urged the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to scrutinize Compass Inc.'s $1.6 billion buy of rival broker Anywhere Real Estate Inc., saying further consolidation could drive commissions higher and squeeze out remaining competitors.
AI Bolstered Proptech Development, Growth In 2025
Amid the ongoing frenzy over artificial intelligence, the property technology sector showed signs of maturing in 2025 along with an upswing in investments.
Fund Targets Senior Housing Following $1.3B Debut In 2024
Boutique real estate investment manager Town Lane has established a new investment platform focused on senior housing properties in the U.S. after the venture launched last year with roughly $1.3 billion in investor capital.
Landlords, Legal System Confront Surge Of Rental Fraud
Victor Petrescu, a real estate litigation partner at Levine Kellogg Lehman Schneider & Grossman LLP in Miami, discusses the increase in fraud in rental applications, how it is impacting landlords and the broader legal system, and what can be done.
Expert Analysis
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3 Securities Litigation Trends To Watch In 2026
Pending federal appellate cases suggest that 2026 will be a significant year for securities litigation, with long-standing debates about class certification, new questions about the risks and value of artificial intelligence features, and private plaintiffs' growing role in cryptocurrency enforcement likely to be major themes, say attorneys at Willkie.
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Funding Haze And Deregulatory Pursuits: The CFPB In 2026
In 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau did not seek additional funding from the Federal Reserve and unwound the legacy of former bureau leadership, and this year will bring further efforts to rescind or rewrite bureau regulations, as well as a changed tone to supervision efforts, say attorneys at Covington.
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Regulatory Rollback And Lingering Limbo: The CFPB In 2025
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has implemented significant changes since President Donald Trump took office in January, including dismissing actions with prejudice, withdrawing guidance and rescinding rules, casting the bureau in uncertain light heading into 2026, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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2025 Calif. Banking Oversight Centered On Consumer Issues
The combination of statutory reform, registration mandates and enforcement activity in 2025 signals that California's financial regulatory landscape is focused on consumer protection, particularly in the areas of crypto kiosk fee practices, earned wage access providers and elder fraud, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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The Major Securities Litigation Rulings And Trends Of 2025
The past 12 months saw increased regulator focus on disclosures concerning artificial intelligence, signs of growing judicial scrutiny at the class certification stage, and shifting regulatory priorities at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — all major developments that may significantly affect securities litigation strategy in 2026 and beyond, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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How Cos. Can Roll With NY's New Algorithmic Pricing Rules
Despite uncertainty from New York’s new ban on artificial intelligence and computer algorithms for setting rents, and efforts to further restrict individualizing prices based on consumers' personal data, property managers, software providers and merchants can take several steps to stay compliant, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.
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Navigating A Sea Change In Rent Algorithm Regulation
The U.S. Department of Justice's proposed settlement of the RealPage lawsuit represents a pivotal moment in the regulation of algorithmic rent-setting, restraining use of these tools amid a growing trend of regulatory limits on use of algorithmic data and methodologies in establishing housing rental prices. say attorneys at Wilson Elser.
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The Hidden Pitfalls Of Letters Of Credit In Lease Negotiations
Amid a surge in commercial office leasing driven by artificial intelligence firms, it's crucial for landlords to be aware of the potential downside of accepting letters of credit — in particular, for amounts of security that are less than the statutory bankruptcy claim cap, say attorneys at Allen Matkins.
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Recent Proposals May Spell Supervision Overhaul For Banks
A slew of rules recently proposed by the federal banking agencies with approaching comment deadlines would rewrite supervision standards to be further tailored to banks' size and activities, while prioritizing financial risks over process, documentation and other nonfinancial risks, say attorneys at Davis Wright.
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Where Things Stand At The CFPB As Funding Dries Up
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is on pace to run out of funding in the new year, threatening current and future rulemaking efforts, but a rapid series of recent actions still carries significant implications for regulated entities and warrants careful monitoring in the remaining weeks of the year, say attorneys at Brownstein Hyatt.
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Steps For Cos. To Comply With Colo. Deceptive Pricing Law
Colorado's newly passed law protecting against deceptive pricing practices will take effect on Jan. 1, broadening the consumer protection framework and standardizing total price disclosure requirements across a variety of industries, and there are several steps businesses can take to comply, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.
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California Vapor Intrusion Policy Should Focus On Site Risks
As California environmental regulators consider whether to change the attenuation factor used in screenings for vapor intrusion, the most prudent path forward is to keep the current value for screening purposes, while using site-specific, risk-based numbers for cleanup and closure targets, says Thierry Montoya at Frost Brown.
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'Measure Twice, Cut Once' Also Applies To Builders' Insurance
A New York federal court's recent decision in Ohio Security Insurance v. Southwest Marine and General Insurance, denying additional insured coverage, shows why it's key to apply the caution of "measure twice, cut once" to construction contracts and insurance policy language, say attorneys at Reed Smith.