Texas AG Proposes Tougher Rules to Enforce Foreign Land Purchase Ban
Revised rules for SB 17 would add a task force, a safe harbor for lenders who do their homework, and a possible public search portal. Comments are open until early November.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has proposed revised rules to enforce the state's law restricting land purchases by people and companies tied to hostile foreign governments, his office announced Oct. 9. The proposal was published in the Oct. 9 Texas Register.
The law
Senate Bill 17 passed during the 89th Legislature and took effect Sept. 1, 2025. It restricts certain individuals and entities from designated adversary nations, including China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, from buying or acquiring interests in Texas real property. The law authorizes the attorney general to investigate transactions and bring civil enforcement actions.
What the new rules add
The October proposal builds on rules first proposed in March. According to Texas Policy Research and a review by Sandler Law Group, the revised version would:
Require the attorney general's enforcement unit to keep a task force dedicated to finding and stopping prohibited sales.
Have the office plan an online registry of Texas properties owned by entities covered by SB 17, including properties bought before the law took effect, modeled on the Texas Sex Offender Registry website, according to the attorney general's release. The rules would also let people report pre-SB 17 purchases.
Add a due-diligence safe harbor for "facilitating entities" such as mortgage lenders, title insurers, appraisers and real estate agents, who must report suspected violations they know or should have known about.
Let anyone file a complaint, and make consultation with the Texas Department of Agriculture optional.
"Under my watch, communist China, Russia, Iran, or any other of our nation's enemies or foreign nationals who threaten our national security will not be allowed to buy property in Texas," Paxton said.
What happens next
Neither the March nor the October proposal has been adopted. The public has 30 days after publication to comment, and the earliest the rules could be adopted is Nov. 8, Texas Policy Research reported. Under the proposal, a facilitating entity that fails to report could be referred to its licensing board, Sandler Law Group noted.
Paxton is leaving the office to run for U.S. Senate. The next attorney general, chosen Nov. 3, will enforce whatever rules are adopted. Our ballot guide covers that race, and our poll story shows how close it is.
Guarding the land
Texans have a deep attachment to their land, and it is reasonable to keep hostile governments from buying it, especially near military bases and critical infrastructure. That is a matter of security, not prejudice.
But good law also needs clear lines. Rules should target the people and companies the Legislature named, protect honest buyers and lenders who do their homework, and avoid treating law-abiding immigrants with suspicion. Texans who buy, sell or lend on property should read the proposal and weigh in while comments are open.
Hero photo: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Texas via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
