Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced strengthened rules to implement Senate Bill 17, legislation that restricts certain individuals and entities connected to designated foreign adversaries from purchasing or acquiring interests in Texas real property.
The law, which took effect on September 1, 2025, applies to designated adversarial nations including China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Paxton's office previously proposed comprehensive rules and is now adding additional safeguards designed to increase transparency and encourage reporting of potential violations.
The new rules would allow any person—not only those facilitating real estate transactions—to submit complaints about potential violations to the attorney general's office. They would also provide protection for entities whose due diligence is based on regulatory guidelines adopted in good faith by industry groups.
The strengthened proposal includes plans for an online registry of Texas properties owned by entities meeting the statute's definitions. Modeled after the Texas Sex Offender Registry, the registry would include mapping and search functions to provide transparency about covered foreign property ownership across the state. The rules would also create a mechanism for individuals to report property acquisitions that occurred before the law took effect.
The attorney general also announced plans to develop a new task force dedicated to uncovering and stopping foreign land sales in Texas. The proposed rules are available for review in the October 9 issue of the Texas Register.