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Section 2

Citation
Section 2
Parent Document
United Housing Foundation, Inc. v. Forman, 421 U.S. 837 (1975)
Effective Date
1975-10-06
Original Source
https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/109272/united-housing-foundation-inc-v-forman/ ↗

Other Sections in This Document (195)

Full Text

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It has been suggested that the sale of housing developments such as condominiums and cooperatives is in need of federal regulation and therefore the securities laws should be construed or amended to reach these transactions. See, e. g., Note, Federal Securities Regulation of Condominiums: A Purchaser’s Perspective, 62 Geo. L. J. 1403 (1974); Note, Cooperative Housing Corporations and the Federal Securities Laws, 71 Col. L. Rev. 118 (1971). Others have disagreed, claiming that the extensive body of regulation developed over more than four decades under these Acts would be inappropriate and unduly costly to the sellers and buyers of residential housing. See Berman & Stone, supra, n. 24; Note, supra, n. 20. Moreover, extension of the securities laws to real estate transactions would involve important questions as to the appropriate balance between state and federal responsibility. The determination of whether and in what manner federal regulation may be required for housing transactions, where the characteristics of an investment in securities are not present, is better left to the Congress, which can assess both the costs and benefits of any such regulation. Indeed only recently Congress instructed the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development “to conduct a full and complete investigation and study . . . with respect to . . . the problems, difficulties, and abuses or potential abuses applicable to condominium and cooperative housing.” §821, 88 Stat. 740, 42 U. S. C. §3532 (1970 ed., Supp. IV). See also Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974, 88 Stat. 1724, 12 U. S. C. §2601 et seq. (1970 ed., Supp. IV); Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act, 82 Stat. 590, 15 U. S. C. §§ 1701-1720.