As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 1, 2017

Registration No. 333-          

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM S-3

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

AMERICAN HOMES 4 RENT

AMERICAN HOMES 4 RENT, L.P.

AND THE ADDITIONAL SUBSIDIARY GUARANTOR REGISTRANT IDENTIFIED BELOW

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

30601 Agoura Road, Suite 200

Agoura Hills, California 91031

(805) 413-5300

(Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Registrant’s Principal Executive Offices)

Sara H. Vogt-Lowell

Chief Legal Officer and Secretary

American Homes 4 Rent

30601 Agoura Road, Suite 200

Agoura Hills, California 91301

(805) 413-5300

(Name, Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent For Service)

Copy to:

Michael E. McTiernan

Hogan Lovells US LLP

555 Thirteenth Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20004

(202) 637-5600

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after the effective date of this registration statement.

If the only securities being registered on this form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box.  ☐

If any of the securities being registered on this form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box.  ☒

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐

If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box.  ☒

If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

American Homes 4 Rent:

If an emerging growth company, indicated by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act.  ☐

American Homes 4 Rent, L.P.:

If an emerging growth company, indicated by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act.  ☐

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

ADDITIONAL SUBSIDIARY GUARANTOR REGISTRANT

PROSPECTUS

Debt Securities

Guarantees

American Homes 4 Rent, L.P., or our operating partnership, may offer, from time to time, one or more series or classes of debt securities. American Homes 4 Rent and American Residential Properties OP, L.P. may guarantee the payment of principal of, and premium, if any, and interest on debt securities issued by American Homes 4 Rent, L.P. to the extent and on the terms described herein and in the applicable prospectus supplement to this prospectus.

We refer to our operating partnership’s debt securities and any related guarantees as the “securities.” This prospectus describes some of the general terms that may apply to these securities and the general manner in which they may be offered. The prices and terms of any securities to be offered, the net proceeds that we expect to receive from the sale of such securities and the specific manner in which such securities may be offered will be set forth in one or more supplements to this prospectus.

We will deliver this prospectus together with a prospectus supplement setting forth the specific terms of the securities we are offering. The applicable prospectus supplement also will contain information, where applicable, about U.S. federal income tax considerations relating to the securities covered by the prospectus supplement.

Our operating partnership and any guarantor may offer the securities directly to investors, through agents designated from time to time by them or us, or to or through underwriters or dealers. If any agents, underwriters, or dealers are involved in the sale of any of the securities, their names, and any applicable purchase price, fee, commission or discount arrangement with, between or among them, will be set forth, or will be calculable from the information set forth, in an accompanying prospectus supplement. For more detailed information, see “Plan of Distribution” beginning on page 23. No securities may be sold without delivery of a prospectus supplement describing the method and terms of the offering of those securities.

Our principal executive offices are located at 30601 Agoura Road, Suite 200, Agoura Hills, California 91301, and our telephone number is (805) 413-5300.

You should carefully read this entire prospectus, the documents that are incorporated by reference in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement before you invest in any of these securities.

Investing in our securities involves risks. You should carefully consider the risks described under “Risk Factors ” on page 5 of this prospectus, as well as the other information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, before making a decision to invest in our securities.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

This prospectus is dated December 1, 2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, utilizing a “shelf” registration process. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities our operating partnership and any guarantor may offer at any time, from time to time, in one or more offerings. This prospectus provides only a general description of the securities our operating partnership and any guarantor may offer and is not meant to provide a complete description of each security. As a result, each time our operating partnership and any guarantor offers securities, we will provide a prospectus supplement that contains specific information about the terms of those securities, which we will attach to this prospectus. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus.

You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement. To the extent there are any inconsistencies between the information in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, you should rely on the information in the applicable prospectus supplement. You should rely only on the information provided or information to which we have referred you, including any information incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any applicable prospectus supplement. We have not authorized any other person to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. Our operating partnership and any guarantor are not making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale of these securities is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus, any free writing prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement prepared by us or the other documents incorporated by reference herein or therein is accurate only as of their respective dates or on the date or dates that are specified in these documents. Our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.

You should read carefully the entire prospectus, as well as the documents incorporated by reference in the prospectus, which we have referred you to in “Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference” below, before making an investment decision. Information incorporated by reference after the date of this prospectus may add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. Statements contained or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any applicable prospectus supplement as to the content of any contract or other document are not necessarily complete, and in each instance we refer you to the copy of the contract or other document filed as an exhibit to a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus or such prospectus supplement, each such statement being qualified in all respects by such reference. Any information in such subsequent filings that is inconsistent with this prospectus will supersede the information in this prospectus or any earlier prospectus supplement.

Unless the context requires otherwise, we define certain terms in this prospectus as follows:

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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Various statements contained in, or incorporated by reference into, this prospectus, including those that express a belief, expectation or intention, as well as those that are not statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements may include projections and estimates concerning the timing and success of specific projects, revenues, income and capital spending. Our forward-looking statements are generally accompanied by words such as “estimate,” “project,” “predict,” “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “potential,” “plan,” “goal” or other words that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and assumptions about future events. While our management considers these expectations and assumptions to be reasonable, they are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, regulatory and other risks, contingencies, trends and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. These and other important factors, including those discussed under “Risk Factors,” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 and our subsequently filed periodic reports (which are incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement) and elsewhere in this prospectus, and in other documents that we may file from time to time with the SEC, may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks, contingencies and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following:

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While forward-looking statements reflect our good faith beliefs, assumptions and expectations, they are not guarantees of future performance, and you should not unduly rely on them. The forward-looking statements in this prospectus speak only as of the date of this prospectus. We are not obligated to update or revise these statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable law.

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OUR COMPANY

American Homes 4 Rent is an internally managed Maryland REIT focused on acquiring, renovating, leasing and operating single-family homes as rental properties. We commenced operations in November 2012 to take advantage of the dislocation in the single-family home market. We have an integrated operating platform that consists of approximately 1,065 personnel as of September 30, 2017, dedicated to acquisition, property management, marketing, leasing, financial and administrative functions.

As of September 30, 2017, we owned 50,015 single-family properties in 22 states, including 469 properties held for sale. As of September 30, 2017, 46,026, or 92.9% of our total properties (excluding held for sale properties) were leased.

We believe we have become a leader in the single-family home rental industry by aggregating a geographically diversified portfolio of high-quality single-family homes and developing “American Homes 4 Rent” into a nationally recognized brand that is well-known for quality, value and tenant satisfaction and is well respected in our communities. Our investments may be made directly or through investment vehicles with third-party investors. In addition to individual property purchases, we may pursue bulk acquisitions from financial institutions, government agencies and competitors. We may also build some of our properties to our rental specifications. Our objective is to generate attractive, risk-adjusted returns for our shareholders through dividends and capital appreciation.

We believe that we have been organized and operate in conformity with the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under U.S. federal income tax laws for each of our taxable years commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2012, through the taxable year ended December 31, 2016. We expect to satisfy the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the U.S. federal income tax laws for our taxable year ending December 31, 2017, and subsequent taxable years.

Our principal executive office is located at 30601 Agoura Road, Suite 200, Agoura Hills, California 91301. Our main telephone number is (805) 413-5300. Our website address is www.americanhomes4rent.com. The information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference in or otherwise a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.

OUR OPERATING PARTNERSHIP

Our operating partnership is a Delaware limited partnership, which was formed in October 2012. Substantially all of our consolidated assets are held by our operating partnership, and we conduct substantially all of our activities through our operating partnership and its wholly owned subsidiaries. We own a 83.2% interest in our operating partnership as of September 30, 2017 and are the sole general partner. Our operating partnership wholly-owns American Residential Properties OP, L.P. Our operating partnership’s principal executive offices are located at 30601 Agoura Road, Suite 200, Agoura Hills, California 91301. Our operating partnership’s main telephone number is (805) 413-5300.

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RISK FACTORS

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risk factors set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 and our subsequently filed periodic reports, together with all the other information contained or incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and the risks we have highlighted in other sections of this prospectus, before making an investment decision to purchase our securities. The occurrence of any of the events described could materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and our ability to make cash distributions to our shareholders, which could cause you to lose all or a significant part of your investment in our securities. Some statements in this prospectus constitute forward-looking statements. Please refer to the section entitled “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”

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USE OF PROCEEDS

Unless otherwise described in the applicable prospectus supplement to this prospectus used to offer specific securities, we intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of securities under this prospectus for general corporate purposes, including, without limitation, acquisitions of additional properties, the repayment of outstanding indebtedness, capital expenditures, the expansion, redevelopment and/or improvement of properties in our portfolio, working capital and other general purposes, including repurchases of securities.

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RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES

The following table sets forth the Company’s and our operating partnership’s ratio of earnings to fixed charges for each of the periods presented. We compute our ratio of earnings to fixed charges by dividing our earnings by the sum of our fixed charges. For purposes of computing this ratio, earnings has been calculated by adding fixed charges (excluding capitalized interest) to income from continuing operations before equity in earnings or losses of joint ventures and adjustment for gain or remeasurement of equity instruments. “Fixed charges” consist of interest expense, including capitalized interest and the interest component of rental expense.

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DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES

Our operating partnership may issue debt securities in one or more series under an indenture to be entered into between our operating partnership and a trustee to be determined, the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. References herein to the “Indenture” refer to such indenture and references to the “Trustee” refer to such trustee or any other trustee for any particular series of debt securities issued under the Indenture. The terms of the debt securities of any series will be those specified in or pursuant to the Indenture and in the applicable debt securities of that series and those made part of the Indenture by the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended (the “Trust Indenture Act”).

The following description of selected provisions of the Indenture and the debt securities that may be issued thereunder is not complete, and the description of selected terms of the debt securities of a particular series included in the applicable prospectus supplement also will not be complete. You should review the form of the Indenture, any supplemental indentures and the form of the applicable debt securities, which forms have been or will be filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or as exhibits to documents which have been or will be incorporated by reference in this prospectus. To obtain a copy of the form of the Indenture or the form of the applicable debt securities, see “Where You Can Find More Information” in this prospectus. The following description of debt securities and the description of the debt securities of the particular series in the applicable prospectus supplement are qualified in their entirety by reference to all of the provisions of the Indenture, any supplemental indentures and the applicable debt securities, which provisions, including defined terms, are incorporated by reference in this prospectus. Capitalized terms used but not defined in this section shall have the meanings assigned to those terms in the Indenture.

The following description of debt securities describes general terms and provisions of the series of debt securities to which any prospectus supplement may relate. When the debt securities of a particular series are offered for sale, the specific terms of such debt securities will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement. If any particular terms of such debt securities described in a prospectus supplement are inconsistent with any of the terms of the debt securities generally described in this prospectus, then the terms described in the applicable prospectus supplement will supersede the terms described in this prospectus.

General

Our operating partnership may issue an unlimited principal amount of debt securities under the Indenture. The Indenture provides that debt securities of any series may be issued up to the aggregate principal amount which may be authorized from time to time by our operating partnership. Please read the applicable prospectus supplement relating to the debt securities of the particular series being offered thereby for the specific terms of such debt securities, including, where applicable:

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As used in this prospectus, references to the principal of and premium, if any, and interest, if any, on the debt securities of a series include Additional Amounts, if any, payable on the debt securities of such series in that context.

Our operating partnership may issue debt securities as original issue discount securities to be sold at a substantial discount below their principal amount. In the event of an acceleration of the maturity of any original issue discount security, the amount payable to the holder upon acceleration will be determined in the manner described in the applicable prospectus supplement. Important federal income tax and other considerations applicable to original issue discount securities will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

The terms of the debt securities of any series may be inconsistent with the terms of the debt securities of any other series. Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, our operating partnership may, without the consent of, or notice to, the holders of the debt securities of any series, reopen an existing series of debt securities and issue additional debt securities of that series.

Other than to the extent provided with respect to the debt securities of a particular series and described in the applicable prospectus supplement, the Indenture will not contain any provisions that would limit the ability of our operating partnership to incur indebtedness or to substantially reduce or eliminate our operating partnership’s consolidated assets, which may have a material adverse effect on the ability of our operating partnership to service our operating partnership’s indebtedness (including the debt securities) or that would afford holders of the debt securities protection in the event of:

Registration, Transfer, Payment and Paying Agent

Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, each series of debt securities will be issued in registered form only, without coupons.

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Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities will be payable and may be surrendered for registration of transfer or exchange at an office of our operating partnership or an agent of our operating partnership in the continental United States. However, our operating partnership, at its option, may make payments of interest on any interest payment date on any debt security by check mailed to the address of the person entitled to receive that payment or by wire transfer to an account maintained by the payee with a bank located in the United States.

Any interest not punctually paid or duly provided for on any interest payment date with respect to the debt securities of any series will forthwith cease to be payable to the holders of those debt securities on the applicable regular record date and may either be paid to the persons in whose names those debt securities are registered at the close of business on a special record date for the payment of the interest not punctually paid or duly provided for to be fixed by the Trustee, notice whereof shall be given to the holders of those debt securities not less than 10 days prior to the special record date, or may be paid at any time in any other lawful manner, all as completely described in the Indenture.

Subject to certain limitations imposed on debt securities issued in book-entry form, the debt securities of any series will be exchangeable for other debt securities of the same series and of a like aggregate principal amount and tenor of different authorized denominations upon surrender of those debt securities at the designated place or places. In addition, subject to certain limitations imposed upon debt securities issued in book-entry form, the debt securities of any series may be surrendered for registration of transfer or exchange thereof at the designated place or places if duly endorsed or accompanied by a written instrument of transfer. No service charge shall be made for any registration of transfer or exchange, redemption or repayment of debt securities, but our operating partnership may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge that may be imposed in connection with certain of those transactions.

Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, our operating partnership will not be required to:

Outstanding Debt Securities

In determining whether the holders of the requisite principal amount of outstanding debt securities have given any request, demand, authorization, direction, notice, consent, or waiver under the Indenture:

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Redemption and Repurchase

The debt securities of any series may be redeemable at our operating partnership’s option or may be subject to mandatory redemption by our operating partnership as required by a sinking fund or otherwise. In addition, the debt securities of any series may be subject to repurchase by our operating partnership at the option of the holders. The applicable prospectus supplement will describe the terms and conditions regarding any optional or mandatory redemption or option to repurchase the debt securities of the related series.

Covenants

Existence

Except as permitted under “—Merger, Consolidation or Sale,” each of our operating partnership and any guarantor will do or cause to be done all things necessary to preserve and keep in full force and effect its existence, and rights (charter and statutory) and franchises. However, neither our operating partnership nor any guarantor shall be required to preserve any such right or franchise if the Board of Trustees (or any duly authorized committee of that Board of Trustees), as applicable, shall determine that the preservation of the right or franchise is no longer desirable in the conduct of the business of our operating partnership or any guarantor, as applicable.

Maintenance of Properties

Our operating partnership will cause all of its material properties used or useful in the conduct of its business or any of its Subsidiaries’ businesses to be maintained and kept in good condition, repair and working order, normal wear and tear, casualty and condemnation excepted, and supplied with all necessary equipment and cause all necessary repairs, renewals, replacements, betterments and improvements to be made, all as in our operating partnership’s judgment may be necessary in order for our operating partnership to at all times properly and advantageously conduct its business carried on in connection with such properties. Our operating partnership will not be prevented from (1) removing permanently any property that has been condemned or suffered a casualty loss, if it is in its best interests, (2) discontinuing maintenance or operation of any property if, in its reasonable judgment, doing so is in its best interest and is not disadvantageous in any material respect to the holders of the debt securities, or (3) selling or otherwise disposing for value its properties in the ordinary course of business.

Insurance

Our operating partnership will, and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to, keep in force upon all of our operating partnership’s and each of its Subsidiaries’ properties and operations insurance policies carried with responsible companies in such amounts and covering all such risks as is customary in the industry in which our operating partnership and its Subsidiaries do business in accordance with prevailing market conditions and availability.

Payment of Taxes and Other Claims

Our operating partnership will pay or discharge or cause to be paid or discharged before it becomes delinquent:

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However, our operating partnership will not be required to pay or discharge or cause to be paid or discharged any tax, assessment, charge or claim the amount, applicability or validity of which is being contested in good faith.

Additional Covenants

The applicable prospectus supplement will describe any additional material covenants relating to such series of debt securities.

Events of Default

Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, an Event of Default with respect to the debt securities of any series is defined in the Indenture as being:

No Event of Default with respect to any particular series of debt securities necessarily constitutes an Event of Default with respect to any other series of debt securities. The Trustee is required to give notice to holders of the debt securities of the applicable series within 90 days after the Trustee has actual knowledge (as such knowledge is described in the Indenture) of a default relating to such debt securities; provided, however, that the Trustee may withhold notice to the holders of the debt securities of such series of any default, except a default in the payment of the principal of, premium, if any, or interest on any debt securities of such series, or in the payment of any sinking fund installment, if and so long as specified responsible officers of the Trustee determine in good faith that the withholding of the notice is in the interest of the holders; and provided further that in the case of an Event of Default as described in (3) above, the Trustee will not give notice to the holders until at least 90 days after the occurrence thereof.

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If an Event of Default specified in clause (5) above occurs, then the principal of, and premium, if any, on all the outstanding debt securities of the applicable series and unpaid interest, if any, accrued thereon shall automatically become immediately due and payable. If any other Event of Default with respect to the outstanding debt securities of the applicable series occurs and is continuing, either the Trustee or the holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the debt securities of that series then outstanding may declare the principal of, and premium, if any, on, or if debt securities of that series are original issue discount securities such lesser amount as may be specified in the terms of that series of debt securities, and unpaid interest, if any, accrued thereon to be due and payable immediately. However, upon specified conditions, the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the debt securities of that series then outstanding may rescind and annul any such declaration of acceleration and its consequences if:

The holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of a series may waive any past default with respect to the debt securities of such series and its consequences, except:

The Indenture provides that no holders of debt securities of any series may institute any proceedings, judicial or otherwise, with respect to the Indenture or the debt securities of such series, or for the appointment of a receiver or Trustee, or for any remedy thereunder, except in the case of failure of the Trustee, for 60 days, to act after it has received written notice of an Event of Default with respect to such series from a holder of a debt security of such series, a written request to institute proceedings in respect of such Event of Default from the holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series, as well as an offer of indemnity or security reasonably satisfactory to it, and no inconsistent direction has been given to the Trustee during such 60 day period by the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Indenture, each holder of a debt security will have the right, which is absolute and unconditional, to receive payment of the principal of and premium, if any, and interest, if any, and any Additional Amounts on that debt security on the respective due dates for those payments, and in the case of any debt security which is convertible into or exchangeable for other securities or property, to convert or exchange as the case may be, such debt security in accordance with its terms, and to institute suit for the enforcement of those payments and any such right to convert or exchange, and this right shall not be impaired without the consent of such holder.

Subject to the provisions of the Trust Indenture Act requiring the Trustee, during the continuance of an Event of Default under the Indenture, to act with the requisite standard of care, the Trustee is under no obligation to exercise any of its rights or powers under the Indenture at the request or direction of any of the holders of debt securities of any series unless those holders have offered the Trustee indemnity or security reasonably

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satisfactory to it. The holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series will have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the Trustee, or of exercising any trust or power conferred upon the Trustee, provided that the direction would not conflict with any rule or law or with the Indenture or with any series of debt securities or involve the Trustee in personal liability, such direction would not be unduly prejudicial to the rights of any other holder of debt securities of that series (or the debt securities of any other series) not joining in such action, and the Trustee may take any other action deemed proper by the Trustee which is not inconsistent with such direction.

Within 120 calendar days after the close of each fiscal year, our operating partnership must deliver to the Trustee an officer’s certificate stating whether or not such certifying officer has knowledge of any default under the Indenture and, if so, specifying each such default and the nature and status thereof.

Modification, Waivers and Meetings

The Indenture permits our operating partnership and the Trustee, with the consent of the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of each series issued under the Indenture and affected by a modification or amendment (voting as separate classes), to modify or amend any of the provisions of the Indenture or of the debt securities of the applicable series or the rights of the holders of the debt securities of the applicable series under the Indenture. However, no modification or amendment shall, without the consent of the holder of each outstanding debt security affected thereby:

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The Indenture also contains provisions permitting our operating partnership and any guarantor, as applicable, and the Trustee, without the consent of the holders of any debt securities, to modify or amend the Indenture, among other things:

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The holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may waive our operating partnership’s compliance with some of the restrictive provisions of the Indenture, which may include covenants, if any, which are specified in the applicable prospectus supplement. The holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may, on behalf of all holders of debt securities of that series, waive any past default under the Indenture with respect to the debt securities of that series and its consequences, except a default which is continuing (i) in the payment of the principal of, or premium, if any, or interest, if any, on, and any Additional Amounts with respect to, the debt securities of that series, (ii) with respect to the conversion or exchange of a series of debt securities convertible or exchangeable into common equity of our operating partnership, or (iii) in respect of a covenant or provision which cannot be modified or amended without the consent of the holder of each outstanding debt security of the affected series.

The Indenture contains provisions for convening meetings of the holders of a series of debt securities. A meeting may be called at any time by the Trustee, and also, upon our operating partnership’s or any guarantor’s request, or the request of holders of at least 10% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series. Notice of a meeting must be given in accordance with the provisions of the Indenture. Except for any consent which must be given by the holder of each outstanding debt security affected in the manner described above, any resolution presented at a meeting or adjourned meeting duly reconvened at which a quorum, as described below, is present may be adopted by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of the applicable series. However, any resolution with respect to any request, demand, authorization, direction, notice, consent, waiver, or other action which may be made, given or taken by the holders of a specified percentage, other than a majority, in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of a series may be adopted at a meeting or adjourned meeting duly reconvened at which a quorum is present by the affirmative vote of the holders of that specified percentage in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series. Any resolution passed or decision taken at any meeting of holders of debt securities of any series duly held in accordance with the Indenture will be binding on all holders of debt securities of that series. The quorum at any meeting called to adopt a resolution, and at any reconvened meeting, will be persons holding or representing a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of the applicable series, subject to exceptions; provided, however, that if any action is to be taken at that meeting with respect to a consent or waiver which may be given by the holders of a supermajority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of a series, the persons holding or representing that specified supermajority percentage in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series will constitute a quorum.

Merger, Consolidation or Sale

The Indenture provides that our operating partnership may merge or consolidate with or into, or sell, assign, convey, transfer or lease all or substantially all of its property and assets to, any other entity, provided that the following conditions are met:

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In the event of any transaction described in and complying with the conditions listed in the immediately preceding paragraphs in which our operating partnership is not the continuing entity, the successor person formed or remaining shall succeed, and be substituted for, and may exercise every right and power of ours, and (except in the case of a lease) our operating partnership shall be discharged from its obligations under the debt securities and the Indenture.

Discharge, Defeasance and Covenant Defeasance

Satisfaction and Discharge

Upon our operating partnership’s direction, the Indenture shall cease to be of further effect with respect to the debt securities of any series specified by our operating partnership, subject to the survival of specified provisions of the Indenture (except for provisions that survive pursuant to the terms of the Indenture and the debt securities of such series), including (unless the accompanying prospectus supplement provides otherwise) our operating partnership’s obligation to repurchase such debt securities at the option of the holders thereof, if applicable, and our operating partnership’s, or any guarantor’s, if applicable, obligation to pay Additional Amounts in respect of such debt securities to the extent described below, when:

and, in either case

If the debt securities of any series provide for the payment of Additional Amounts, our operating partnership or any guarantor, as applicable, will remain obligated, following the deposit described above, to pay Additional

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Amounts on those debt securities to the extent that they exceed the amount deposited in respect of those Additional Amounts as described above.

Defeasance and Covenant Defeasance

Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, our operating partnership may elect with respect to the debt securities of the particular series either:

in either case upon the irrevocable deposit with the Trustee, in trust for that purpose, of an amount in the currency in which those debt securities are payable at maturity or, if applicable, upon redemption, and/or government obligations (as defined in the Indenture) which through the scheduled payment of principal and interest in accordance with their terms will provide money, in an amount sufficient, in the written opinion of a nationally recognized firm of independent public accountants, to pay the principal of and any premium and any interest on, and, to the extent that (x) those debt securities provide for the payment of Additional Amounts and (y) the amount of the Additional Amounts which are or will be payable is at the time of deposit reasonably determinable by our operating partnership, in the exercise of its reasonable discretion, the Additional Amounts with respect to, those debt securities, and any mandatory sinking fund or analogous payments on those debt securities, on the due dates for those payments. If the cash and government obligations deposited are sufficient to pay the outstanding debt securities of the applicable series on a particular redemption date, our operating partnership shall have given the Trustee irrevocable instructions to redeem those debt securities on that date.

The legal defeasance or covenant defeasance described above shall only be effective if, among other things:

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in either case to the effect that, and based on this ruling or change the opinion of counsel shall confirm that, the holders of the debt securities of the applicable series will not recognize income, gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a result of the legal defeasance and will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the same amounts, in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if the legal defeasance had not occurred;

In the event our operating partnership effects covenant defeasance with respect to debt securities of any series and those debt securities are declared due and payable because of the occurrence of any Event of Default other than an Event of Default with respect to the covenants as to which covenant defeasance has been effected, which covenants would no longer be applicable to the debt securities of that series after covenant defeasance, the amount of monies and/or government obligations deposited with the Trustee to effect covenant defeasance may not be sufficient to pay amounts due on the debt securities of that series at the time of any acceleration resulting from that Event of Default. However, our operating partnership would remain liable to make payment of those amounts due at the time of acceleration.

The applicable prospectus supplement may further describe the provisions, if any, permitting or restricting legal defeasance or covenant defeasance with respect to the debt securities of a particular series.

Concerning the Trustee

The Indenture provides that there may be more than one Trustee under the Indenture, each with respect to one or more series of debt securities. If there are different Trustees for different series of debt securities, each Trustee will be a Trustee of a trust or trusts separate and apart from the trust or trusts administered by any other Trustee under the Indenture. Unless otherwise indicated in any applicable prospectus supplement, any action permitted to be taken by a Trustee may be taken by such Trustee only with respect to the one or more series of debt securities for which it is the Trustee under the Indenture. Any Trustee under the Indenture may resign or be

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removed with respect to one or more series of debt securities. All payments of principal of, and premium, if any, and interest on, and all registration, transfer, exchange, authentication and delivery (including authentication and delivery on original issuance of the debt securities) of, the debt securities of a series will be effected by the Trustee with respect to that series at an office designated by the Trustee.

We may maintain corporate trust relationships in the ordinary course of business with the Trustee. The Trustee shall have and be subject to all the duties and responsibilities specified with respect to an indenture trustee under the Trust Indenture Act. Subject to the provisions of the Trust Indenture Act, the Trustee is under no obligation to exercise any of the powers vested in it by the Indenture at the request of any holder of debt securities, unless offered indemnity or security reasonably satisfactory to it by the holder against the losses, damages, costs, expense and liabilities which might be incurred thereby.

Under the Trust Indenture Act, the Indenture is deemed to contain limitations on the right of the Trustee, should it become a creditor of our operating partnership, to obtain payment of claims in some cases or to realize on certain property received in respect of any such claim as security or otherwise. The Trustee may engage in other transactions with our operating partnership. If it acquires any conflicting interest under the Trust Indenture Act relating to any of its duties with respect to the debt securities, however, it must eliminate the conflict or resign as Trustee.

Governing Law

The Indenture, the debt securities and any related guarantees will be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York without regard to conflicts of law principles of such State other than New York General Obligations Law Section 5-1401.

Notices

All notices to holders of debt securities shall be validly given if in writing and mailed, first-class postage prepaid, or delivered electronically pursuant to the applicable procedures of the depositary, to them at their respective addresses in the register maintained by the trustee.

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DESCRIPTION OF GUARANTEES

American Homes 4 Rent may guarantee (either fully and unconditionally or in a limited manner) and American Residential Properties OP, L.P. may guarantee (fully and unconditionally) the due and punctual payment of the principal of, and any premium and interest on, or other obligations related to, one or more series of debt securities of American Homes 4 Rent, L.P., whether at maturity, by acceleration, redemption, repayment or otherwise, in accordance with the terms of such guarantee and the applicable indenture. In case of the failure of American Homes 4 Rent, L.P. punctually to pay any principal, premium or interest on any guaranteed debt security, we and/or American Residential Properties OP, L.P. will cause any such payment to be made as it becomes due and payable, whether at maturity, upon acceleration, redemption, repayment or otherwise, and as if such payment were made by American Homes 4 Rent, L.P. The particular terms of the guarantee, if any, will be set forth in a prospectus supplement relating to the guaranteed securities.

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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

Unless otherwise set forth in a prospectus supplement accompanying this prospectus, our operating partnership and any guarantor may sell the securities offered pursuant to this prospectus to or through one or more underwriters or dealers, or our operating partnership may sell the securities to investors directly or through agents. Any such underwriter, dealer or agent involved in the offer and sale of the securities will be named in the applicable prospectus supplement. Our operating partnership and any guarantor may sell securities directly to investors on their own behalf in those jurisdictions where they are authorized to do so.

Underwriters may offer and sell the securities at a fixed price or prices which may be changed, at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to such prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices. Our operating partnership and any guarantor also may, from time to time, authorize dealers or agents to offer and sell the securities upon such terms and conditions as may be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. In connection with the sale of any of the securities, underwriters may receive compensation from us or our operating partnership in the form of underwriting discounts or commissions and may also receive commissions from purchasers of the securities for whom they may act as agents. Underwriters may sell the securities to or through dealers, and such dealers may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the underwriters or commissions from the purchasers for whom they may act as agents.

The securities may also be sold in one or more of the following transactions: (i) block transactions (which may involve crosses) in which a broker-dealer may sell all or a portion of such shares as agent, but may position and resell all or a portion of the block as principal to facilitate the transaction; (ii) purchases by any such broker-dealer as principal, and resale by such broker-dealer for its own account pursuant to a prospectus supplement; (iii) a special offering, an exchange distribution or a secondary distribution in accordance with applicable NYSE or other stock exchange, quotation system or over-the-counter market rules; (iv) ordinary brokerage transactions and transactions in which any such broker-dealer solicits purchasers; (v) sales “at the market” to or through a market maker or into an existing trading market, on an exchange or otherwise, for such shares; and (vi) sales in other ways not involving market makers or established trading markets, including direct sales to purchasers.

Any underwriting compensation paid by us or our operating partnership to underwriters or agents in connection with the offering of the securities, and any discounts or concessions or commissions allowed by underwriters to participating dealers, will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. Dealers and agents participating in the distribution of the securities may be deemed to be underwriters, and any discounts and commissions received by them and any profit realized by them on resale of the securities may be deemed to be underwriting discounts and commissions.

Underwriters, dealers and agents may be entitled, under agreements entered into with us and/or our operating partnership, to indemnification against and contribution toward certain civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Unless otherwise set forth in an accompanying prospectus supplement, the obligations of any underwriters to purchase any of the securities will be subject to certain conditions precedent, and the underwriters will be obligated to purchase all of such securities, if any are purchased.

Underwriters, dealers and agents may engage in transactions with, or perform services for, us, our operating partnership and our affiliates in the ordinary course of business.

If indicated in the prospectus supplement, we or our operating partnership may authorize underwriters or other agents to solicit offers by institutions to purchase securities from us or our operating partnership pursuant to contracts providing for payment and delivery on a future date. Institutions with which we may make these delayed delivery contracts include commercial and savings banks, insurance companies, pension funds, investment companies, educational and charitable institutions and others. The obligations of any purchaser under any such delayed delivery contract will be subject to the condition that the purchase of the securities shall not at

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the time of delivery be prohibited under the laws of the jurisdiction to which the purchaser is subject. The underwriters and other agents will not have any responsibility with regard to the validity or performance of these delayed delivery contracts.

Any securities may or may not be listed on a national securities exchange. In connection with the offering of the securities hereby which are listed on a national securities exchange, certain underwriters, and selling group members and their respective affiliates may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the market price of the applicable securities. Such transactions may include stabilization transactions effected in accordance with Rule 104 of Regulation M promulgated by the SEC pursuant to which such persons may bid for or purchase securities for the purpose of stabilizing their market price. The underwriters in an offering of securities may also create a “short position” for their account by selling more securities in connection with the offering than they are committed to purchase from our operating partnership. In such case, the underwriters could cover all or a portion of such short position by either purchasing securities in the open market following completion of the offering of such securities or by exercising any over-allotment option granted to them by us or our operating partnership. In addition, the managing underwriter may impose “penalty bids” under contractual arrangements with other underwriters, which means that they can reclaim from an underwriter (or any selling group member participating in the offering) for the account of the other underwriters, the selling concession with respect to securities that are distributed in the offering but subsequently purchased for the account of the underwriters in the open market. Any of the transactions described in this paragraph or comparable transactions that are described in any accompanying prospectus supplement may result in the maintenance of the price of the securities at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. None of such transactions described in this paragraph or in an accompanying prospectus supplement are required to be taken by any underwriters and, if they are undertaken, may be discontinued at any time.

Our operating partnership and any guarantor may sell the securities in exchange in whole or part for consideration other than cash. This consideration may consist of services or products, whether tangible or intangible, and including services or products we may use in our business; outstanding debt or equity securities of our company or one or more of its subsidiaries; debt or equity securities or assets of other companies, including in connection with investments, joint ventures or other strategic transactions, or acquisitions; release of claims or settlement of disputes; and satisfaction of obligations, including obligations to make payments to distributors or other suppliers and payment of interest on outstanding obligations. Our operating partnership may sell the securities as part of a transaction in which outstanding debt or equity securities of our company or one or more of our subsidiaries are surrendered, converted, exercised, canceled or transferred.

Any securities that our operating partnership or any guarantor issue will be new issues of securities with no established trading market and may or may not be listed on a national securities exchange, quotation system or over-the-counter market. Any underwriters or agents to or through which securities are sold by our operating partnership may make a market in such securities, but such underwriters or agents will not be obligated to do so and any of them may discontinue any market making at any time without notice. No assurance can be given as to the liquidity of or trading market for any securities sold by our operating partnership.

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CERTAIN U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS

The following is a general discussion of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations relating to our qualification and taxation as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”). For purposes of the following discussion, references to “our Company,” “the Company,” “we,” and “us” mean only American Homes 4 Rent and not its subsidiaries or affiliates, and references to “our Operating Partnership,” “the Operating Partnership,” and “the OP” mean only American Homes 4 Rent, L.P. and not its subsidiaries or affiliates. This discussion is based upon the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), the U.S. Treasury Regulations, rulings and other administrative interpretations and practices of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) (including administrative interpretations and practices expressed in private letter rulings which are binding on the IRS only with respect to the particular taxpayers who requested and received those rulings), and judicial decisions, all as currently in effect, and all of which are subject to differing interpretations or to change, possibly with retroactive effect. No assurance can be given that the IRS would not assert, or that a court would not sustain, a position contrary to any of the tax consequences described below. We have not sought and will not seek an advance ruling from the IRS regarding any matter discussed in this section. The discussion is also based upon the assumption that we will operate the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliated entities in accordance with their applicable organizational documents. This discussion is for general information only, and does not purport to discuss all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation.

A summary of the material U.S. federal income tax considerations to you as a prospective holder of a particular series of the Operating Partnership’s debt securities will be included in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Taxation of the Company as a REIT

General

We have elected to be taxed as a REIT commencing with our first taxable year ended December 31, 2012. A REIT generally is not subject to U.S. federal income tax on the income that it distributes to shareholders provided that the REIT meets the applicable REIT distribution requirements and other requirements for qualification as a REIT under the Code. We believe that we have been organized and operated in a manner so as to satisfy the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the Code, and we intend to continue to be organized and to operate in a manner that will allow us to continue to meet the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the Code.

Qualification and taxation as a REIT depends upon our ability to meet the various qualification tests imposed under the Code, including through our actual annual (or in some cases quarterly) operating results, requirements relating to income, asset ownership, distribution levels and diversity of share ownership, and the various other REIT qualification requirements imposed under the Code. Given the complex nature of the REIT qualification requirements, the ongoing importance of factual determinations and the possibility of future changes in our circumstances, we cannot provide any assurances that we have been or will be organized or operated in a manner so as to satisfy the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT under the Code, or that we will meet in the future the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT. See “—Failure to Qualify as a REIT.”

The sections of the Code that relate to our qualification and operation as a REIT are highly technical and complex. This discussion sets forth the material aspects of the sections of the Code that govern the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a REIT and its shareholders.

Taxation

For each taxable year in which we qualify for taxation as a REIT, we generally will not be subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax on our net income that is distributed currently to our shareholders. Shareholders

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generally will be subject to taxation on dividends (other than designated capital gain dividends and “qualified dividend income”) at rates applicable to ordinary income, instead of at lower capital gain rates. Qualification for taxation as a REIT enables the REIT and its shareholders to substantially eliminate the “double taxation” (that is, taxation at both the corporate and shareholder levels) that generally results from an investment in a regular corporation. Regular corporations (non-REIT “C” corporations) generally are subject to U.S. federal corporate income taxation on their income and shareholders of regular corporations are subject to tax on any dividends that are received. Currently, however, shareholders of regular domestic and certain foreign corporations who are taxed at individual rates generally are taxed on dividends they receive at capital gains rates, which may be lower for individuals than ordinary income rates, and shareholders of regular corporations who are taxed at regular corporate rates will receive the benefit of a dividends-received deduction that substantially reduces the effective rate that they pay on such dividends. Subject to certain limited exceptions, dividends received from REITs are generally not eligible for taxation at the preferential dividend income rates currently available to individual U.S. shareholders who receive dividends from taxable subchapter “C” corporations, and corporate shareholders of a REIT are not eligible for the dividends-received deduction. Income earned by a REIT and distributed currently to its shareholders generally will be subject to lower aggregate rates of U.S. federal income taxation than if such income were earned by a non-REIT “C” corporation, subjected to corporate income tax, and then distributed to shareholders and subjected to tax either at capital gain rates or the effective rate paid by a corporate recipient entitled to the benefit of the dividends-received deduction.

Any net operating losses, foreign tax credits and other tax attributes of a REIT generally do not pass through to our shareholders, subject to special rules for certain items such as the capital gains that we recognize.

Even if we qualify for taxation as a REIT, we will be subject to U.S. federal income tax in the following circumstances:

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Notwithstanding our qualification as a REIT, we and our subsidiaries may be subject to a variety of taxes, including payroll taxes and state, local, and foreign income, property and other taxes on our assets, operations and/or net worth. We could also be subject to tax in situations and on transactions not presently contemplated.

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Requirements for Qualification as a REIT

The Code defines a “REIT” as a corporation, trust or association:

The Code provides that conditions (1), (2), (3) and (4) above must be met during the entire taxable year and condition (5) above must be met during at least 335 days of a taxable year of 12 months, or during a proportionate part of a taxable year of less than 12 months. Conditions (5) and (6) do not apply until after the first taxable year for which an election is made to be taxed as a REIT. Condition (6) must be met during the last half of each taxable year. For purposes of determining share ownership under condition (6) above, a supplemental unemployment compensation benefits plan, a private foundation or a portion of a trust permanently set aside or used exclusively for charitable purposes generally is considered an individual. However, a trust that is a qualified trust under Code Section 401(a) generally is not considered an individual, and beneficiaries of a qualified trust are treated as holding shares of a REIT in proportion to their actuarial interests in the trust for purposes of condition (6) above. If we fail to satisfy these share ownership requirements, we will fail to qualify as a REIT unless we qualify for certain relief provisions described in the following paragraph.

To monitor our compliance with condition (6) above, we are generally required to maintain records regarding the actual ownership of our shares. To do so, we must demand written statements each year from the record holders of certain specified percentages of our shares pursuant to which the record holders must disclose the actual owners of the shares (i.e., the persons required to include in gross income the dividends paid by us). We must maintain a list of those persons failing or refusing to comply with this demand as part of our records. We could be subject to monetary penalties if we fail to comply with these record-keeping requirements. A shareholder that fails or refuses to comply with the demand is required by Treasury Regulations to submit a statement with its tax return disclosing the actual ownership of our shares and other information. If we comply with the record-keeping requirement and we do not know or, exercising reasonable diligence, would not have known of our failure to meet condition (6) above, then we will be treated as having met condition (6) above.

For purposes of condition (8), we adopted December 31 as our year end, and thereby satisfy this requirement.

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Effect of Subsidiary Entities

Ownership of Interests in Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies. In the case of a REIT which is a partner in a partnership or a member in a limited liability company treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, Treasury Regulations provide that the REIT will be deemed to own its pro rata share of the assets of the partnership or limited liability company, as the case may be, based on its capital interest in such partnership or limited liability company. Also, the REIT will be deemed to be entitled to the income of the partnership or limited liability company attributable to its pro rata share of the assets of that entity. The assets and gross income of the partnership or limited liability company retain the same character in the hands of the REIT for purposes of Section 856 of the Code, including satisfying the gross income tests and the asset tests. Thus, our pro rata share of the assets and items of income of our Operating Partnership, including our Operating Partnership’s share of these items of any partnership or limited liability company in which our Operating Partnership owns an interest, are treated as our assets and items of income for purposes of applying the requirements described in this prospectus, including the income and asset tests described below.

We have included a brief summary of the rules governing the U.S. federal income taxation of partnerships and limited liability companies and their partners or members below in “—Tax Aspects of Our Ownership of Interests in our Operating Partnership and other Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies.” We believe that we have operated and we intend to continue to operate our Operating Partnership and the subsidiary partnerships and limited liability companies in which our Operating Partnership invests in a manner consistent with the requirements for our qualification and taxation as a REIT. We have interests in three joint ventures in which we are a non-managing member in a limited liability company. In the future, we may be a limited partner or non-managing member in some of our partnerships and limited liability companies. If such a partnership or limited liability company were to take actions which could jeopardize our qualification as a REIT or require us to pay tax, we may be forced to dispose of our interest in such entity. In addition, it is possible that a partnership or limited liability company could take an action which could cause us to fail a REIT income or asset test, and that we would not become aware of such action in a time frame that would allow us to dispose of our interest in the partnership or limited liability company or take other corrective action on a timely basis. In that case, we could fail to qualify as a REIT unless entitled to relief, as described below.

Under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, Congress revised the rules applicable to U.S. federal income tax audits of partnerships (such as certain of our subsidiaries) and the collection of any tax resulting from any such audits or other tax proceedings, generally for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017. Under the new rules, the partnership itself may be liable for a hypothetical increase in partner-level taxes (including interest and penalties) resulting from an adjustment of partnership tax items on audit, regardless of changes in the composition of the partners (or their relative ownership) between the year under audit and the year of the adjustment. The new rules also include an elective alternative method under which the additional taxes resulting from the adjustment are assessed from the affected partners, subject to a higher rate of interest than otherwise would apply. Many questions remain as to how the new rules will apply, especially with respect to partners that are REITs, and it is not clear at this time what effect this new legislation will have on us. However, these changes could increase the U.S. federal income tax, interest, and/or penalties otherwise borne by us in the event of a federal income tax audit of a subsidiary partnership.

Ownership of Interests in Qualified REIT Subsidiaries. We may own 100% of the stock of one or more corporations that are qualified REIT subsidiaries. We currently do not have any qualified REIT subsidiaries. A corporation will qualify as a qualified REIT subsidiary if we own 100% of its stock and it is not a taxable REIT subsidiary. A qualified REIT subsidiary will not be treated as a separate corporation, and all assets, liabilities and items of income, deduction and credit of a qualified REIT subsidiary will be treated as our assets, liabilities and such items (as the case may be) for all purposes of the Code, including the REIT qualification tests. For this reason, references in this discussion to our income and assets should be understood to include the income and assets of any qualified REIT subsidiary we own. Our ownership of the voting stock of a qualified REIT subsidiary will not violate the restrictions against ownership of securities of any one issuer which constitute more

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than 10% of the voting power or value of such issuer’s securities or more than 5% of the value of our total assets, as described below in “—Asset Tests Applicable to REITs.”

Ownership of Interests in Taxable REIT Subsidiaries. In general, we may jointly elect with a subsidiary corporation, whether or not wholly owned, to treat such subsidiary corporation as a taxable REIT subsidiary. We currently have four taxable REIT subsidiaries. A taxable REIT subsidiary of ours is a corporation other than a REIT in which we directly or indirectly hold stock, and that has made a joint election with us to be treated as a taxable REIT subsidiary under Section 856(l) of the Code. A taxable REIT subsidiary also includes any corporation other than a REIT in which a taxable REIT subsidiary of ours owns, directly or indirectly, securities (other than certain “straight debt” securities), which represent more than 35% of the total voting power or value of the outstanding securities of such corporation. For purposes of the following discussion, the term “taxable REIT subsidiary” includes subsidiaries of the taxable REIT subsidiaries. Other than some activities relating to lodging and health care facilities, a taxable REIT subsidiary may generally engage in any business, including the provision of customary or non-customary services to our tenants without causing us to receive impermissible tenant service income under the REIT gross income tests. A taxable REIT subsidiary is required to pay regular U.S. federal income tax, and state and local income tax where applicable, as a non-REIT “C” corporation. In addition, a taxable REIT subsidiary may be prevented from deducting interest on debt funded directly or indirectly by us if certain tests regarding the taxable REIT subsidiary’s debt to equity ratio and interest expense are not satisfied. If dividends are paid to us by our taxable REIT subsidiaries, then a portion of the dividends we distribute to shareholders who are taxed at individual rates will generally be eligible for taxation at lower capital gains rates, rather than at ordinary income rates.

Generally, a taxable REIT subsidiary can perform impermissible tenant services without causing us to receive impermissible tenant services income under the REIT income tests. However, several provisions applicable to the arrangements between us and our taxable REIT subsidiaries ensure that such taxable REIT subsidiaries will be subject to an appropriate level of U.S. federal income taxation. For example, taxable REIT subsidiaries are limited in their ability to deduct interest payments in excess of a certain amount made directly or indirectly to us. In addition, we will be obligated to pay a 100% penalty tax on some payments we receive or on certain expenses deducted by our taxable REIT subsidiaries if the economic arrangements between us, our tenants and such taxable REIT subsidiaries are not comparable to similar arrangements among unrelated parties. Our taxable REIT subsidiaries, and any future taxable REIT subsidiaries acquired by us, may make interest and other payments to us and to third parties in connection with activities related to our properties. There can be no assurance that our taxable REIT subsidiaries will not be limited in their ability to deduct interest payments made to us. In addition, there can be no assurance that the IRS might not seek to impose the 100% excise tax on a portion of payments received by us from, or expenses deducted by, our taxable REIT subsidiaries.

As discussed in greater detail below, in certain circumstances, we transfer to our taxable REIT subsidiaries homes or portfolios of homes the sale of which may not qualify for the safe harbor for prohibited transactions. In connection with those transfers, any post-transfer operating income recognized by the applicable taxable REIT subsidiary in respect of such homes and any gain recognized by the applicable taxable REIT subsidiary on a subsequent sale of such homes will be subject to a corporate level tax. In addition, if such homes are transferred by our Operating Partnership to one of our taxable REIT subsidiaries in a tax-deferred transaction under Section 351 of the Code and there is built-in loss in such homes, the applicable taxable REIT subsidiary would not recognize the built-in loss on a subsequent sale of such homes, unless our Operating Partnership were to elect to reduce its stock basis in the applicable taxable REIT subsidiary (and the partners of our Operating Partnership were to reduce their bases in their partnership interests) by the amount of the built-in loss. See “—Gross Income Tests—Income from Prohibited Transactions.”

Gross Income Tests

To qualify as a REIT, we must satisfy two gross income tests which are applied on an annual basis. First, in each taxable year at least 75% of our gross income, excluding gross income from sales of inventory or dealer

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property in “prohibited transactions” and certain hedging and foreign currency transactions, must be derived from investments relating to real property or mortgages on real property, including:

Second, at least 95% of our gross income in each taxable year, excluding gross income from prohibited transactions and certain hedging transactions, must be derived from some combination of income that qualifies under the 75% gross income test described above, as well as (a) other dividends, (b) interest, and (c) gain from the sale or disposition of shares or securities, in either case, not held for sale to customers.

Rents from Real Property. Rents we receive will qualify as “rents from real property” for the purpose of satisfying the gross income requirements for a REIT described above only if several conditions are met. These conditions relate to the identity of the tenant, the computation of the rent payable, and the nature of the property lease.

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We generally lease our properties to tenants that are individuals. Our leases typically have a term of at least one year and require the tenant to pay fixed rent. We do not currently lease and we do not anticipate leasing significant amounts of personal property pursuant to our leases. Moreover, we do not currently perform, and we do not intend to perform, any services other than customary ones for our tenants, unless such services are provided through independent contractors or our taxable REIT subsidiaries. Accordingly, we believe that our leases produce rent that qualifies as “rents from real property” for purposes of the income tests. However, if the IRS were to successfully challenge our treatment of any such services, it could adversely affect our ability to quality as a REIT.

Interest Income. Interest income constitutes qualifying mortgage interest for purposes of the 75% gross income test to the extent that the obligation upon which such interest is paid is secured by a mortgage on real property or an interest in real property. Except as provided in the next sentence below, if we receive interest income with respect to a mortgage loan that is secured by both real property and other property, and the highest principal amount of the loan outstanding during a taxable year exceeds the fair market value of the real property on the date that we acquired or originated the mortgage loan, the interest income will be apportioned between the real property and the other collateral, and our income from the arrangement will qualify for purposes of the 75% gross income test only to the extent that the interest is allocable to the real property. For calendar quarters beginning with the calendar quarter ending March 31, 2016, in the case of real estate mortgage loans that are secured by both real property and personal property, if the fair market value of such personal property does not exceed 15% of the total fair market value of all property securing the loan, then the personal property securing the loan has been and will be treated as real property for purposes of determining whether the mortgage is a qualifying 75% asset test asset and, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2015, interest income that qualifies for purposes of the 75% gross income test.

Under the Code, if the terms of a loan are modified in a manner constituting a “significant modification,” such modification triggers a deemed exchange of the original loan for the modified loan. Revenue Procedure 2014-51 provides a safe harbor pursuant to which we will not be required to redetermine the fair market value of the real property securing a loan for purposes of the gross income and asset tests in connection with a loan modification that is: (1) occasioned by a borrower default; or (2) made at a time when we reasonably believe that the modification to the loan will substantially reduce a significant risk of default on the original loan. If we modify a mortgage loan in the future, no assurance can be provided that all of our loan modifications will qualify for the safe harbor in Revenue Procedure 2014-51.

To the extent that we derive interest income from a mortgage loan, or income from the rental of real property where all or a portion of the amount of interest or rental income payable is contingent, such income generally will qualify for purposes of the gross income tests only if it is based upon the gross receipts or sales of the borrower or lessee, and no part is based on the net income or profits of the borrower or lessee, a tenant or

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subtenant of the borrower or lessee, or any other person. However, where the borrower or lessee derives substantially all of its income from leasing substantially all of its interest in the property to tenants or subtenants, to the extent that the rental income derived by the borrower or lessee, as the case may be, would qualify as rents from real property had we earned the income directly, such income will qualify for purposes of the gross income tests.

We invest in certain private mortgage loans. Those mortgage loans are generally secured by a first lien on real property. To the extent we significantly modify a private mortgage loan in a manner that does not qualify for the safe harbor in Revenue Procedure 2014-51, we will be required to redetermine the value of the real property securing the loan at the time it was significantly modified. If the fair market value of the real property securing a loan has decreased, a portion of the interest income from the loan would not be qualifying income for the 75% gross income test. We anticipate that the interest on those private mortgage loans will generally be treated as qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test.

We do not currently and we do not expect in the future to derive significant amounts of interest that will not qualify under the 75% and 95% gross income tests.

Other Income. We may receive various fees in connection with our operations. The fees generally will be qualifying income for purposes of both the 75% and 95% gross income tests if they are received in consideration for entering into an agreement to make a loan secured by real property and the fees are not determined by income and profits. Other fees are not qualifying income for purposes of either the 75% or the 95% gross income tests. Any fees earned by a taxable REIT subsidiary will not be included for purposes of determining whether we have satisfied the gross income tests. The monthly fee payable to us by American Homes 4 Rent LLC, which is referred to herein as AH LLC, for maintenance and use of certain intellectual property transferred to us in the management internalization transaction that was consummated in June 2013 is treated as nonqualifying income for purposes of the 75% and 95% gross income tests. Similarly, fee income received from performing property management or similar services to third parties and joint ventures with third parties (to the extent of the third party’s interest in the joint venture) is treated as nonqualifying income for purposes of both the 75% and 95% gross income tests.

Dividend Income. Our share of any dividends received from any corporations in which we own an interest (other than qualified REIT subsidiaries) will qualify for purposes of the 95% gross income test but not for purposes of the 75% gross income test. We do not anticipate that we will receive sufficient dividends from such corporations to cause us to exceed the limit on non-qualifying income under the 75% gross income test. Dividends that we receive from other qualifying REITs will qualify for purposes of both REIT income tests.

Income from Hedging Transactions. From time to time we may enter into hedging transactions with respect to one or more of our assets or liabilities. Any such hedging transactions could take a variety of forms, including the use of derivative instruments such as interest rate swap or cap agreements, option agreements, and futures or forward contracts. Income of a REIT, including income from a pass-through subsidiary, arising from “clearly identified” hedging transactions that are entered into to manage the risk of interest rate or price changes with respect to borrowings, including gain from the disposition of such hedging transactions, to the extent the hedging transactions hedge indebtedness incurred, or to be incurred, by the REIT to acquire or carry real estate assets (each such hedge, a “Borrowings Hedge”), will not be treated as gross income for purposes of the 95% gross income test, and will not be treated as gross income for purposes of the 75% gross income test. Income of a REIT arising from hedging transactions that are entered into to manage the risk of currency fluctuations with respect to our investments (each such hedge, a “Currency Hedge”) will not be treated as gross income for purposes of either the 95% gross income test or the 75% gross income test, provided that the transaction is “clearly identified.” Effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2015, this exclusion from the 95% and 75% gross income tests also will apply if we previously entered into a Borrowings Hedge or a Currency Hedge, a portion of the hedged indebtedness or property is disposed of, and in connection with such extinguishment or disposition we enter into a new “clearly identified” hedging transaction to offset the prior hedging position. In general, for a

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hedging transaction to be “clearly identified,” (1) it must be identified as a hedging transaction before the end of the day on which it is acquired, originated, or entered into; and (2) the items of risks being hedged must be identified “substantially contemporaneously” with entering into the hedging transaction (generally not more than 35 days after entering into the hedging transaction). To the extent that we hedge with other types of financial instruments or in other situations, the resultant income will be treated as income that does not qualify under the 95% or 75% gross income tests unless the hedge meets certain requirements and we elect to integrate it with a specified asset and to treat the integrated position as a synthetic debt instrument. We intend to structure any hedging transactions in a manner that does not jeopardize our qualification as a REIT but there can be no assurance we will be successful in this regard.

Income from Prohibited Transactions. Any gain that we realize on the sale of any property held as inventory or otherwise held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business (commonly referred to as “dealer property”) including our share of any such gain realized by our Operating Partnership, either directly or through its subsidiary partnerships and limited liability companies, will be treated as income from a prohibited transaction that is subject to a 100% penalty tax. For purposes of determining the amount of income subject to the penalty tax, gains from sales of dealer property may not be offset by losses from such sales. Whether property is held as dealer property is a question of fact that depends on all the facts and circumstances surrounding the particular transaction. Among the factors considered by the IRS and the courts in making the dealer determination are the nature and purpose of the acquisition of the property; the duration of ownership of the property; the extent and nature of the taxpayer’s efforts to sell the property; the number, extent, continuity, substantiality of the property sales; the extent of subdividing, developing, and advertising the property to increase sales; the use of a business office for the sale of the property; the character and degree of supervision or control exercised by the taxpayer over any representative selling the property; and the time and effort the taxpayer habitually devotes to the sale. The frequency and substantiality of sales is often cited by the courts as the most important objective factor in determining whether the taxpayer is engaged in the business of selling real estate to customers. The fact that the taxpayer holds some or even a substantial portion of its properties for lease and for long-term investment (i.e., not as dealer property) does not necessarily preclude other properties from being viewed as dealer property if the specific facts and circumstances relating thereto indicate that such properties were acquired and held for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business.

However, we will not be treated as a dealer in real property with respect to a property which is a real estate asset that we sell for the purposes of the 100% tax if (i) we have held the property for at least two years for the production of rental income prior to the sale, (ii) capitalized expenditures on the property in the two years preceding the sale are less than 30% of the net selling price of the property, and (iii) we either (a) have seven or fewer sales of property (excluding certain property obtained through foreclosure) for the year of sale, or (b) the aggregate adjusted basis of property sold during the year is 10% or less of the aggregate adjusted basis of all of our assets as of the beginning of the taxable year, or (c) the fair market value of property sold during the year is 10% or less of the aggregate fair market value of all of our assets as of the beginning of the taxable year, or (d) effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2015, the aggregate adjusted basis of property sold during the year is 20% or less of the aggregate adjusted basis of all of our assets as of the beginning of the taxable year and the aggregate adjusted basis of property sold during the three-year period ending with the year of sale is 10% or less of the aggregate tax basis of all of our assets as of the beginning of each of the three taxable years ending with the year of sale, or (e) effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2015, the fair market value of property sold during the year is 20% or less of the aggregate fair market value of all of our assets as of the beginning of the taxable year and the fair market value of property sold during the three-year period ending with the year of sale is 10% or less of the aggregate fair market value of all of our assets as of the beginning of each of the three taxable years ending with the year of sale. If we rely on clauses (b), (c), (d), or (e) in the preceding sentence, substantially all of the marketing and development expenditures with respect to the property sold must be made through an independent contractor from whom we derive no income or, effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2015, our taxable REIT subsidiary. The sale of more than one property to one buyer as part of one transaction constitutes one sale for purposes of this “safe harbor.”

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We structure our activities to avoid transactions that are prohibited transactions. However, the avoidance of this tax on prohibited transactions could cause us to undertake less substantial sales of property than we would otherwise undertake in order to maximize our profits. In addition, we may have to sell numerous properties to a single or a few purchasers, which could cause us to be less profitable than would be the case if we sold properties on a property-by-property basis. In certain circumstances, we transfer one or more homes or portfolio of homes to one of our taxable REIT subsidiaries prior to marketing them for sale. In connection with those transfers, any post-transfer, pre-sale operating income and gain recognized by the applicable taxable REIT subsidiary on a subsequent sale thereof will be subject to a corporate level income tax, as discussed above in “—Effect of Subsidiary Entities—Ownership of Interests in Taxable REIT Subsidiaries,” but generally should not be subject to the 100% penalty tax. Further, in the event that the IRS were to assert successfully that any such subsequent sale should be treated as having been made by the REIT (instead of our taxable REIT subsidiary), we could be subject to the penalty tax on gain recognized on such sales if the homes are otherwise determined to have been held by the REIT as dealer property and the safe harbor does not apply. In addition, the extent to which we can transfer homes to a taxable REIT subsidiary for subsequent lease and sale is subject to the constraint that the aggregate value of the equity and non-mortgage debt securities of all taxable REIT subsidiaries in which we hold an interest cannot exceed 25% (20% for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017) of the Company’s total assets at the end of any calendar quarter. Further, because dividends that we receive from the applicable taxable REIT subsidiary constitute nonqualifying gross income for purposes of the 75% gross income test, we could be constrained in our ability to cause the applicable taxable REIT subsidiary to pay dividends to reduce its equity value.

We have interests in joint ventures that acquired mortgage loans. Those joint ventures have agreed not to sell or dispose of property if such sale or disposition would constitute a prohibited transaction. However, we do not control, or have consents rights with respect to the operation of, those joint ventures so there can be no assurance that the joint ventures will not engage in prohibited transactions.

Income from Foreclosure Property. We generally will be subject to tax at the maximum corporate rate (currently 35%) on any net income from foreclosure property, including any gain from the disposition of the foreclosure property, other than income that constitutes qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test. Foreclosure property is real property and any personal property incident to such real property (1) that we acquire as the result of having bid on the property at foreclosure, or having otherwise reduced the property to ownership or possession by agreement or process of law, after a default (or upon imminent default) on a lease of the property or a mortgage loan held by us and secured by the property, (2) for which we acquired the related loan or lease at a time when default was not imminent or anticipated, and (3) with respect to which we made a proper election to treat the property as foreclosure property. Any gain from the sale of property for which a foreclosure property election has been made will not be subject to the 100% tax on gains from prohibited transactions described above, even if the property would otherwise constitute inventory or dealer property. To the extent that we receive any income from foreclosure property that does not qualify for purposes of the 75% gross income test, we intend to make an election to treat the related property as foreclosure property if the election is available (which may not be the case with respect to acquired “distressed loans”).

Cash/Income Differences/Phantom Income. Due to the nature of the assets in which we may invest, we may be required to recognize taxable income from those assets in advance of our receipt of cash flow on or proceeds from disposition of such assets, and may be required to report taxable income in early periods that exceeds the economic income ultimately realized on such assets.

We may invest in mortgages, including non-performing loans, or NPLs, in the secondary market for less than their face amount. The amount of such discount generally will be treated as “market discount” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. We may elect to include in taxable income accrued market discount as it accrues rather than as it is realized for economic purposes, resulting in phantom income. Principal payments on certain loans are made monthly, and consequently accrued market discount may have to be included in income each month as if the debt instrument were assured of ultimately being collected in full. If we collect less on the debt

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instrument than our purchase price plus the market discount we had previously reported as income, we may not be able to benefit from any offsetting loss deductions.

We may acquire distressed debt investments that are subsequently modified by agreement with the borrower. If the amendments to the outstanding debt are “significant modifications” under the applicable Treasury Regulations, the modified debt may be considered to have been reissued to us in a debt-for-debt exchange with the borrower. In that event, we may be required to recognize income to the extent the principal amount of the modified debt exceeds our adjusted tax basis in the unmodified debt, and would hold the modified loan with a cost basis equal to its principal amount for U.S. federal income tax purposes. To the extent that such modifications are made with respect to a debt instrument held by a taxable REIT subsidiary treated as a dealer as described above, such a taxable REIT subsidiary would be required at the end of each taxable year, including the taxable year in which such modification was made, to mark the modified debt instrument to its fair market value as if the debt instrument were sold. In that case, the taxable REIT subsidiary would recognize a loss at the end of the taxable year in which the modifications were made to the extent the fair market value of such debt instrument were less than its principal amount after the modification.

In addition, in the event that any debt instruments acquired by us are delinquent as to mandatory principal and interest payments, or in the event payments with respect to a particular debt instrument are not made when due, we may nonetheless be required to continue to recognize the unpaid interest as taxable income. Similarly, we may be required to accrue interest income with respect to subordinate mortgage-backed securities at the stated rate regardless of whether corresponding cash payments are received.

Finally, we may be required under the terms of indebtedness that we incur to private lenders to use cash received from interest payments to make principal payments on that indebtedness, with the effect of recognizing income but not having a corresponding amount of cash available for distribution to holders of our securities.

Due to each of these potential timing differences between income recognition or expense deduction and cash receipts or disbursements, there is a significant risk that we may have substantial taxable income in excess of cash available for distribution. In that event, we may need to borrow funds or take other action to satisfy the REIT distribution requirements for the taxable year in which this “phantom income” is recognized. See “—Requirements for Qualification as a REIT—Annual Distribution Requirements.”

Failure to Satisfy the Gross Income Tests. If we fail to satisfy one or both of the 75% or 95% gross income tests for any taxable year, we may nevertheless qualify as a REIT for that year if we are entitled to relief under the Code. These relief provisions will be generally available if (1) our failure to meet these tests was due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect and (2) following our identification of the failure to meet the 75% and/or 95% gross income tests for any taxable year, we file a schedule with the IRS setting forth a description of each item of our gross income that satisfies the gross income tests for purposes of the 75% or 95% gross income test for such taxable year in accordance with Treasury Regulations. It is not possible, however, to state whether in all circumstances we would be entitled to the benefit of these relief provisions. If these relief provisions are inapplicable to a particular set of circumstances, we will fail to qualify as a REIT. As discussed above, under “—Taxation of the Company as a REIT—General,” even if these relief provisions apply, a tax would be imposed based on the amount of non-qualifying income. We intend to take advantage of any and all relief provisions that are available to us to cure any violation of the income tests applicable to REITs.

Redetermined Rents; Redetermined Deductions; Excess Interest; or Redetermined Taxable REIT Subsidiary Service Income. Any redetermined rents, redetermined deductions, excess interest or, effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2015, redetermined taxable REIT subsidiary service income will be subject to a 100% penalty tax. In general, redetermined rents are rents from real property that are overstated as a result of services furnished by one of our taxable REIT subsidiaries to any of our tenants, and redetermined deductions and excess interest represent amounts that are deducted by a taxable REIT subsidiary for amounts paid to us that are in excess of the amounts that would have been deducted based on arm’s-length negotiations. Redetermined

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taxable REIT subsidiary service income means gross income (less allocable deductions) of a taxable REIT subsidiary attributable to services provided to, or on behalf of, the REIT (other than to tenants) to the extent the taxable REIT subsidiary’s income (less deductions) attributable thereto is increased to clearly reflect income. Rents we receive will not constitute redetermined rents if they qualify for the safe harbor provisions contained in the Code. Safe harbor provisions are provided where:

While we anticipate that any fees paid to our taxable REIT subsidiaries for tenant services will reflect arm’s-length rates, a taxable REIT subsidiary may under certain circumstances provide tenant services which do not satisfy any of the safe-harbor provisions described above. Nevertheless, these determinations are inherently factual, and the IRS has broad discretion to assert that amounts paid between related parties should be reallocated to clearly reflect their respective incomes. If the IRS successfully made such an assertion, we would be required to pay a 100% penalty tax on the redetermined rent, redetermined deductions, excess interest or redetermined taxable REIT subsidiary service income, as applicable.

Asset Tests

At the close of each calendar quarter, we must satisfy the following tests relating to the nature and diversification of our assets. For purposes of the asset tests, a REIT is not treated as owning the stock of a qualified REIT subsidiary, an equity interest in any entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, or an equity interest in any entity that is disregarded as separate from its owner for U.S. federal income tax purposes (a “disregarded entity”). Instead, a REIT is treated as owning its proportionate share of the assets held by such entity.

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The 10% value test does not apply to certain “straight debt” and other excluded securities, as described in the Code, including (1) loans to individuals or estates; (2) obligations to pay rent from real property; (3) rental agreements described in Section 467 of the Code; (4) any security issued by other REITs; (5) certain securities issued by a state, the District of Columbia, a foreign government, or a political subdivision of any of the foregoing, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and (6) any other arrangement as determined by the IRS. In addition, (1) a REIT’s interest as a partner in a partnership is not considered a security for purposes of the 10% value test; (2) any debt instrument issued by a partnership (other than straight debt or other excluded security) will not be considered a security issued by the partnership if at least 75% of the partnership’s gross income is derived from sources that would qualify for the 75% gross income test; and (3) any debt instrument issued by a partnership (other than straight debt or other excluded security) will not be considered a security issued by a partnership to the extent of the REIT’s interest as a partner in the partnership.

For purposes of the 10% value test, debt will meet the “straight debt” safe harbor if (1) neither us, nor any of our controlled taxable REIT subsidiaries (i.e., taxable REIT subsidiaries more than 50% of the vote or value of the outstanding stock of which is directly or indirectly owned by us), own any securities not described in the preceding paragraph that have an aggregate value greater than one percent of the issuer’s outstanding securities, as calculated under the Code, (2) the debt is a written unconditional promise to pay on demand or on a specified date a sum certain in money, (3) the debt is not convertible, directly or indirectly, into stock, and (4) the interest rate and the interest payment dates of the debt are not contingent on the borrower’s profits, the borrower’s discretion or similar factors. However, contingencies regarding time of payment and interest are permissible for purposes of qualifying as a straight debt security if either (1) such contingency does not have the effect of changing the effective yield of maturity, as determined under the Code, other than a change in the annual yield to maturity that does not exceed the greater of (i) 5% of the annual yield to maturity and (ii) 0.25%, or (2) neither the aggregate issue price nor the aggregate face amount of the issuer’s debt instruments held by the REIT exceeds $1,000,000 and not more than 12 months of unaccrued interest can be required to be prepaid thereunder. In addition, debt will not be disqualified from being treated as “straight debt” solely because the time or amount of payment is subject to a contingency upon a default or the exercise of a prepayment right by the issuer of the debt, provided that such contingency is consistent with customary commercial practice.

We may invest in mortgages, including NPLs. A real estate mortgage loan that we own (including, effective for calendar quarters beginning with the calendar quarter ending March 31, 2016, mortgages on interests in real property) generally will be treated as a real estate asset for purposes of the 75% asset test if, on the date that we acquire or originate the mortgage loan, the value of the real property securing the loan is equal to or greater than the principal amount of the loan. Effective for calendar quarters beginning with the calendar quarter ending March 31, 2016, in the case of real estate mortgage loans that are secured by both real property and personal

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property, if the fair market value of such personal property does not exceed 15% of the total fair market value of all such property, then the personal property securing the loan will be treated as real property for purposes of determining whether and what portion of (a) the mortgage qualifies as a real estate asset for purposes of the 75% asset test, and (b) interest income from the mortgage qualifies for the 75% gross income test. Existing IRS guidance provides that certain rules described above that are applicable to the gross income tests may apply to determine what portion of a mortgage loan will be treated as a real estate asset if the mortgage loan is secured both by real property and other assets. Revenue Procedure 2014-51 provides a safe harbor under which the IRS has stated that it will not challenge a REIT’s treatment of a loan as being, in part, a qualifying real estate asset in an amount equal to the lesser of: (1) the fair market value of the loan on the date of the relevant quarterly REIT asset testing date and (2) the greater of (a) the fair market value of the real property securing the loan on the date of the relevant quarterly REIT testing date and (b) the fair market value of the real property securing the loan determined as of the date the REIT committed to acquire the loan. It is unclear how the Revenue Procedure 2014-51 safe harbor is affected by the recent legislative changes regarding treatment of personal property that is mortgaged in connection with real property. Until additional guidance is issued, we intend to apply the Revenue Procedure safe harbor without taking into account the legislative changes regarding the treatment of mortgages secured by both real and personal property.

We may invest in distressed loans or NPLs with the intent to foreclose on the investments and acquire the underlying residential real estate assets, which we refer to as residential REOs. We expect to hold these distressed loans or NPLs in our taxable REIT subsidiaries and then transfer the residential REO to the Company. Our taxable REIT subsidiaries will pay regular U.S. federal income tax, and state, and local income tax, where applicable, as a non-REIT “C” corporation, on gain from the foreclosure, if any.

As discussed above under “—Gross Income Tests—Interest Income,” we invest in certain private mortgage loans that are secured by first liens on real property. We anticipate that those private mortgage loans will generally be treated as qualifying assets for the 75% asset test.

We believe that the assets that we hold and intend to hold will satisfy the foregoing asset test requirements. However, we have not and will not obtain independent appraisals to support our conclusions as to the value of our assets. Moreover, the value of some assets may not be susceptible to a precise determination. As a result, there can be no assurance that the IRS will not contend that our ownership of assets violates one or more of the asset tests applicable to REITs in which case we might not satisfy the 75% asset test and the other asset tests and could fail to qualify as a REIT.

Failure to Satisfy the Asset Tests. The asset tests must be satisfied not only on the last day of the calendar quarter in which we, directly or through pass-through subsidiaries, acquire securities in the applicable issuer, but also on the last day of the calendar quarter in which we increase our ownership of securities of such issuer, including as a result of increasing our interest in pass-through subsidiaries. After initially meeting the asset tests at the close of any quarter, we will not lose our status as a REIT for failure to satisfy the asset tests solely by reason of changes in the relative values of our assets. If failure to satisfy the asset tests results from an acquisition of securities or other property during a quarter, we can cure this failure by disposing of sufficient non-qualifying assets within 30 days after the close of that quarter. We believe that we have maintained, and we intend to continue to maintain, adequate records of the value of our assets to ensure compliance with the asset tests, and we intend to take any available action within 30 days after the close of any quarter as may be required to cure any noncompliance with the asset tests. Although we plan to take steps to ensure that we satisfy such tests for any quarter with respect to which testing is to occur, there can be no assurance that such steps will always be successful. If we fail to timely cure any noncompliance with the asset tests, we would cease to qualify as a REIT, unless we satisfy certain relief provisions.

The failure to satisfy the 5% asset test, or the 10% vote or value asset tests can be remedied even after the 30-day cure period under certain circumstances. Specifically, if we fail these asset tests at the end of any quarter and such failure is not cured within 30 days thereafter, we may dispose of sufficient assets (generally within six

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months after the last day of the quarter in which our identification of the failure to satisfy these asset tests occurred) to cure such a violation that does not exceed the lesser of 1% of our assets at the end of the relevant quarter or $10,000,000. If we fail any of the other asset tests or our failure of the 5% and 10% asset tests is in excess of the de minimis amount described above, as long as such failure was due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect, we are permitted to avoid disqualification as a REIT, after the 30-day cure period, by taking steps including the disposing of sufficient assets to meet the asset test (generally within six months after the last day of the quarter in which our identification of the failure to satisfy the REIT asset test occurred), paying a tax equal to the greater of $50,000 and the highest corporate income tax rate of the net income generated by the non-qualifying assets during the period in which we failed to satisfy the asset test, and filing in accordance with applicable Treasury Regulations a schedule with the IRS that describes the assets that caused us to fail to satisfy the asset test(s). We intend to take advantage of any and all relief provisions that are available to us to cure any violation of the asset tests applicable to REITs. In certain circumstances, utilization of such provisions could result in us being required to pay an excise or penalty tax, which could be significant in amount.

Sale-Leaseback Transactions

We have certain investments in the form of sale-leaseback transactions. We treat these transactions as true leases for federal income tax purposes. However, depending on the terms of any specific transaction, the IRS might take the position that the transaction is not a true lease but is more properly treated in some other manner. If such recharacterization were successful, we would not be entitled to claim the depreciation deductions available to an owner of the property. In addition, the recharacterization of one or more of these transactions might cause us to fail to satisfy the asset tests or the income tests described above and such failure could result in our failing to qualify as a REIT. Alternatively, the amount or timing of income inclusion or the loss of depreciation deductions resulting from the recharacterization might cause us to fail to meet the distribution requirement described below for one or more taxable years absent the availability of the deficiency dividend procedure or might result in a larger portion of our dividends being treated as ordinary income to our shareholders.

Annual Distribution Requirements

To qualify as a REIT, we are required to distribute dividends, other than capital gain dividends, to our shareholders each year in an amount at least equal to:

For purposes of this test, non-cash income means income attributable to leveled stepped rents, original issue discount included in our taxable income without the receipt of a corresponding payment, cancellation of indebtedness or a like-kind exchange that is later determined to be taxable.

We generally must make dividend distributions in the taxable year to which they relate. Dividend distributions may be made in the following year in two circumstances. First, if we declare a dividend in October, November, or December of any year with a prospective record date in one of these months and pay the dividend on or before January 31 of the following year, such distributions are treated as both paid by us and received by each shareholder on December 31 of the year in which they are declared. Second, distributions (“858 spill-over dividends”) may be made in the following year if (A) the distributions are (i) declared before we timely file our tax return for the prior year, (ii) distributed within the 12-month period following the close of the prior taxable year to which they relate back, and (iii) distributed with or before the “first regular dividend payment” after such declaration, and (B) we elect in our tax return to have a specified dollar amount of such dividend (or dividends) treated as if paid in the prior year. The maximum dollar amount that we may elect to treat as an 858 spill-over

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dividend is the amount by which the earnings and profits for the taxable year exceed the total amount of distributions out of such earnings and profits that were actually made during the taxable year to which they relate back. These distributions are taxable to our shareholders in the year in which paid, even though the distributions relate to our prior taxable year for purposes of the 90% distribution requirement.

For taxable years ending on or before December 31, 2014, in order for distributions to be counted as satisfying the annual distribution requirement for REITs, and to provide us with a REIT-level tax deduction, the distributions must not have been “preferential dividends.” A dividend is not a preferential dividend if the distribution is (1) pro rata among all outstanding shares within a particular class, and (2) in accordance with the preferences among different classes of shares as set forth in our organizational documents. Beginning with the taxable year that began on January 1, 2015, so long as we continue to be a “publicly offered REIT” (i.e., a REIT which is required to file annual and periodic reports with the SEC under the Exchange Act), the preferential dividend rule has not and will not apply to us.

To the extent that we do not distribute all of our net capital gain or distribute at least 90%, but less than 100%, of our “REIT taxable income,” as adjusted, we will be required to pay tax on that amount at regular corporate tax rates. We believe that we have made, and we intend to continue to make, timely distributions sufficient to satisfy these annual distribution requirements. In certain circumstances, we may elect to retain, rather than distribute, our net long-term capital gains and pay tax on such gains. In this case, we could elect for our shareholders to include their proportionate share of such undistributed long-term capital gains in income, and to receive a corresponding credit for their share of the tax that we paid. Our shareholders would then increase their adjusted basis of their shares by the difference between (1) the amounts of capital gain dividends that we designated and that they included in their taxable income, minus (2) the tax that we paid on their behalf with respect to that income.

To the extent that in the future we may have available net operating losses carried forward from prior taxable years, such losses may reduce the amount of distributions that we must make in order to comply with the REIT distribution requirements. Such losses, however, (1) will generally not affect the character, in the hands of our shareholders, of any distributions that are actually made as ordinary dividends or capital gains; and (2) cannot be passed through or used by our shareholders.

If we fail to distribute during each calendar year at least the sum of (a) 85% of our REIT ordinary income for such year, (b) 95% of our REIT capital gain net income for such year, and (c) any undistributed taxable income (ordinary and capital gain) from all prior periods, we would be subject to a non-deductible 4% excise tax on the excess of such required distribution over the sum of (x) the amounts “actually distributed,” and (y) the amounts of income we retained and on which we paid corporate income tax.

We expect that our REIT taxable income (determined before our deduction for dividends paid) will be less than our cash flow because of depreciation and other non-cash charges included in computing REIT taxable income. Accordingly, we anticipate that we will generally have sufficient cash or liquid assets to enable us to satisfy the distribution requirements described above. However, from time to time, we may not have sufficient cash or other liquid assets to meet these distribution requirements due to timing differences between the actual receipt of income and actual payment of deductible expenses, and the inclusion of income and deduction of expenses in arriving at our taxable income. If these timing differences occur, we may need to arrange for short-term, or possibly long-term, borrowings or need to pay dividends in the form of taxable dividends in order to meet the distribution requirements.

We may be able to rectify a failure to meet the distribution requirement for a year by paying “deficiency dividends” to our shareholders in a later year, which may be included in our deduction for dividends paid for the earlier year. Thus, we may be able to avoid being taxed on amounts distributed as deficiency dividends. However, we will be required to pay interest to the IRS based upon the amount of any deduction claimed for deficiency dividends.

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Record-Keeping Requirements

We are required to comply with applicable record-keeping requirements. Failure to comply could result in monetary fines.

Failure to Qualify as a REIT

If we fail to satisfy one or more requirements for REIT qualification other than gross income and asset tests that have the specific savings clauses, we can avoid termination of our REIT qualification by paying a penalty of $50,000 for each such failure, provided that our noncompliance was due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect.

If we fail to qualify for taxation as a REIT in any taxable year and the relief provisions do not apply, we will be subject to tax, including any applicable alternative minimum tax, on our taxable income at regular corporate rates. If we fail to qualify for taxation as a REIT, we will not be required to make any distributions to our shareholders, and any distributions that are made to our shareholders will not be deductible by us. As a result, our failure to qualify for taxation as a REIT would significantly reduce the cash available for distributions by us to our shareholders. In addition, if we fail to qualify for taxation as a REIT, all distributions to our shareholders, to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits, will be taxable as regular corporate dividends, which means that shareholders taxed as individuals currently would receive qualified dividend income that would be taxed at capital gains rates, and corporate shareholders generally would be entitled to a dividends-received deduction with respect to such dividends. Unless entitled to relief under specific statutory provisions, we also will be disqualified from taxation as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year during which qualification was lost. There can be no assurance that we would be entitled to any statutory relief. We intend to take advantage of any and all relief provisions that are available to us to cure any violation of the requirements applicable to REITs.

Tax Aspects of Our Ownership of Interests in our Operating Partnership and other Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies

General

Substantially all of our investments are and will continue to be owned indirectly through our Operating Partnership. In addition, our Operating Partnership holds certain of its investments indirectly through subsidiary partnerships and limited liability companies that are classified as partnerships or as disregarded entities for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In general, entities that are classified as partnerships or as disregarded entities for U.S. federal income tax purposes are “pass-through” entities which are not required to pay U.S. federal income tax. Rather, partners or members of such entities are allocated their pro rata shares of the items of income, gain, loss, deduction and credit of the entity, and are required to include these items in calculating their U.S. federal income tax liability, without regard to whether the partners or members receive a distribution of cash from the entity. We include in our income our pro rata share of the foregoing items for purposes of the various REIT gross income tests and in the computation of our REIT taxable income. Moreover, for purposes of the REIT asset tests, we include our pro rata share of assets, based on capital interests, of assets held by our Operating Partnership, including its share of its subsidiary partnerships and limited liability companies. See “—Requirements for Qualification as a REIT—Effect of Subsidiary Entities—Ownership of Interests in Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies.”

Entity Classification

Our interests in our Operating Partnership and the subsidiary partnerships and limited liability companies involve special tax considerations, including the possibility that the IRS might challenge the status of one or more of these entities as a partnership or disregarded entity, and assert that such entity is an association taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If our Operating Partnership, or a subsidiary partnership or

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limited liability company, were treated as an association, it would be taxable as a corporation and would be required to pay an entity-level tax on its income. In this situation, the character of our assets and items of gross income could change and could preclude us from satisfying the REIT asset tests and possibly the REIT income tests. See “—Requirements for Qualification as a REIT—Gross Income Tests” and “—Requirements for Qualification as a REIT —Asset Tests.” This, in turn, would prevent us from qualifying as a REIT. See “—Failure to Qualify as a REIT” for a discussion of the effect of our failure to meet these tests for a taxable year. In addition, a change in our Operating Partnership’s or a subsidiary partnership’s or limited liability company’s status as a partnership for tax purposes might be treated as a taxable event. If so, we might incur a tax liability without any related cash distributions.

We believe each of our Operating Partnership and our other partnerships and limited liability companies (other than our taxable REIT subsidiaries) is properly treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a partnership or disregarded entity. Pursuant to Treasury Regulations under Section 7701 of the Code, a partnership is treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes unless it elects to be treated as a corporation or would be treated as a corporation because it is a “publicly traded partnership.” A “publicly traded partnership” is any partnership (i) the interests in which are traded on an established securities market or (ii) the interests in which are readily tradable on a “secondary market or the substantial equivalent thereof.”

Our company and our Operating Partnership intend to take the reporting position for U.S. federal income tax purposes that our Operating Partnership is not a publicly traded partnership. There is a risk, however, that the right of a holder of OP units to redeem the units for Class A common shares could cause OP units to be considered readily tradable on the substantial equivalent of a secondary market. Under the relevant Treasury Regulations, interests in a partnership will not be considered readily tradable on a secondary market or on the substantial equivalent of a secondary market if the partnership qualifies for specified “safe harbors,” which are based on the specific facts and circumstances relating to the partnership. We and our Operating Partnership believe that our Operating Partnership has qualified and will qualify for at least one of these safe harbors at all times in the foreseeable future. Our Operating Partnership cannot provide any assurance that it will continue to qualify for one of the safe harbors mentioned above.

If our Operating Partnership is a publicly traded partnership, it will be taxed as a corporation unless at least 90% of its gross income consists of “qualifying income” under Section 7704 of the Code. Qualifying income is generally real property rents and other types of passive income. We believe that our Operating Partnership has sufficient qualifying income so that it would be taxed as a partnership, even if it were a publicly traded partnership. The income requirements applicable to us in order for us to qualify as a REIT under the Code and the definition of qualifying income under the publicly traded partnership rules are very similar. Although differences exist between these two income tests, we do not believe that these differences would cause our Operating Partnership not to satisfy the 90% gross income test applicable to publicly traded partnerships.

If our Operating Partnership were taxable as a corporation, most, if not all, of the tax consequences described herein would be inapplicable. In particular, we would not qualify as a REIT because the value of our ownership interest in our Operating Partnership would exceed 5% of our assets and we would be considered to hold more than 10% of the voting securities (and more than 10% of the value of the outstanding securities) of another corporation (see “—Requirements for Qualification as a REIT—Asset Tests” above). In this event, the value of our shares could be materially adversely affected (see “—Failure to Qualify as a REIT” above).

Allocations of Partnership Income, Gain, Loss and Deduction

The partnership agreement of our Operating Partnership generally provides that items of operating income and loss will be allocated to reflect the distribution and liquidation preferences of certain holders of OP units, and then to the holders of units in proportion to the number of units held by each such unit holder. Certain limited partners may agree in the future to guarantee debt of our Operating Partnership, either directly or indirectly through an agreement to make capital contributions to our Operating Partnership under limited circumstances. As

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a result of these guarantees or contribution agreements, such limited partners could under limited circumstances be allocated net loss that would have otherwise been allocable to us.

If an allocation of partnership income or loss does not comply with the requirements of Section 704(b) of the Code and the Treasury Regulations thereunder, the item subject to the allocation will be reallocated in accordance with the partners’ interests in the partnership. This reallocation will be determined by taking into account all of the facts and circumstances relating to the economic arrangement of the partners with respect to such item. Our Operating Partnership’s allocations of taxable income and loss are intended to comply with the requirements of Section 704(b) of the Code and the Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder.

Tax Allocations with Respect to the Properties

Under Section 704(c) of the Code, income, gain, loss and deduction attributable to appreciated or depreciated property that is contributed to a partnership in exchange for an interest in the partnership, must be allocated in a manner so that the contributing partner is charged with the unrealized gain or benefits from the unrealized loss associated with the property at the time of the contribution. The amount of the unrealized gain or unrealized loss is generally equal to the difference between the fair market value or book value and the adjusted tax basis of the property at the time of contribution. These allocations are solely for U.S. federal income tax purposes and do not affect the book capital accounts or other economic or legal arrangements among the partners. The partnership agreement requires that these allocations be made in a manner consistent with Section 704(c) of the Code.

Treasury Regulations issued under Section 704(c) of the Code provide partnerships with a choice of several methods of accounting for book-tax differences. We and our Operating Partnership use the “traditional method” for accounting for book-tax differences for properties contributed to our Operating Partnership by AH LLC. Under the traditional method, which is the least favorable method from our perspective, the carryover basis of contributed properties in the hands of our Operating Partnership (i) may cause us to be allocated lower amounts of depreciation and other deductions for tax purposes than would be allocated to us if all contributed properties were to have a tax basis equal to their fair market value at the time of the contribution and (ii) in the event of a sale of such properties, could cause us to be allocated taxable gain in excess of our corresponding economic or book gain (or taxable loss that is less than our economic or book loss) with respect to the sale, with a corresponding benefit to the contributing partners. Therefore, the use of the traditional method could result in our having taxable income that is in excess of economic income and our cash distributions from our Operating Partnership. This excess taxable income is sometimes referred to as “phantom income” and will be subject to the REIT distribution requirements described in “—Annual Distribution Requirements.” Because we rely on our cash distributions from our Operating Partnership to meet the REIT distribution requirements, the phantom income could adversely affect our ability to comply with the REIT distribution requirements and cause our shareholders to recognize additional dividend income without an increase in distributions. See “—Requirements for Qualification as a REIT” and “—Requirements for Qualification as a REIT—Annual Distribution Requirements.” We and our Operating Partnership may use the traditional method to account for book-tax differences for other properties acquired by our Operating Partnership in the future. Any property acquired by our Operating Partnership in a taxable transaction will initially have a tax basis equal to its fair market value and, accordingly, Section 704(c) of the Code will not apply.

Other Tax Consequences

Legislative or other actions affecting REITs

The present U.S. federal income tax treatment of REITs may be modified, possibly with retroactive effect, by legislative, judicial or administrative action at any time. The REIT rules are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process and by the IRS and the U.S. Treasury Department which may result in statutory changes as well as revisions to regulations and interpretations. Changes to the federal tax laws and

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interpretations thereof could adversely affect an investment in our shares. Legislative and regulatory changes, including comprehensive tax reform, may be more likely in the 115^th Congress, which convened in January 2017, because the Presidency and both Houses of Congress are controlled by the same political party. Investors should consult with their tax advisors regarding the effect of potential changes to the federal tax laws and on an investment in our shares.

State, Local and Foreign Taxes

We may be required to pay tax in various state or local jurisdictions, including those in which we transact business, and our shareholders may be required to pay tax in various state or local jurisdictions, including those in which they reside. Our state and local tax treatment may not conform to the U.S. federal income tax consequences discussed above. In addition, a shareholder’s state and local tax treatment may not conform to the U.S. federal income tax consequences discussed above. Consequently, investors should consult with their tax advisors regarding the effect of state and local tax laws on an investment in our shares.

Tax Shelter Reporting

If a holder recognizes a loss as a result of a transaction with respect to our shares of at least (i) for a holder that is an individual, S corporation, trust or a partnership with at least one non-corporate partner, $2.0 million or more in a single taxable year or $4.0 million or more in a combination of taxable years, or (ii) for a holder that is either a corporation or a partnership with only corporate partners, $10.0 million or more in a single taxable year or $20.0 million or more in a combination of taxable years, such holder may be required to file a disclosure statement with the IRS on IRS Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases exempt from this reporting requirement, but shareholders of a REIT currently are not excepted. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Investors should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.

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LEGAL MATTERS

Hogan Lovells US LLP will pass upon certain legal matters relating to the issuance and sale of the debt securities by American Homes 4 Rent, L.P. and the validity of the related guarantees of American Homes 4 Rent and American Residential Properties OP, L.P.

EXPERTS

The (1) consolidated financial statements of American Homes 4 Rent appearing in American Homes 4 Rent’s Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 31, 2016, and the effectiveness of American Homes 4 Rent’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2016, and (2) the consolidated financial statements of American Homes 4 Rent, L.P. and Subsidiaries as of and for the year ended December 31, 2016 appearing in American Homes 4 Rent’s Current Report on Form 8-K/A dated December 1, 2017, have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their reports thereon included therein, and incorporated herein by reference. Such financial statements are, and audited financial statements to be included in subsequently filed documents will be, incorporated herein in reliance upon the reports of Ernst & Young LLP pertaining to such financial statements and the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of the respective dates (to the extent covered by consents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission) given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

The consolidated financial statements and schedule of American Homes 4 Rent as of December 31, 2015 and for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, incorporated by reference in this Prospectus and in the Registration Statement of which this prospectus is a part, have been so included in reliance on the report of BDO USA, LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, incorporated herein by reference, given on the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

The consolidated financial statements and schedule of American Homes 4 Rent, L.P. and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2015 and for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, incorporated by reference in this Prospectus and in the Registration Statement of which this prospectus is a part, have been so included in reliance on the report of BDO USA, LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, incorporated herein by reference, given on the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

The consolidated financial statements of American Residential Properties, Inc. appearing in American Homes 4 Rent’s Current Report on Form 8-K/A dated May 11, 2016 have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent auditors, as set forth in their report thereon, included therein, and incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements are incorporated herein by reference in reliance upon such report given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

Our website address is https://www.americanhomes4rent.com. We and our operating partnership make our SEC filings available on our website, free of charge, as soon as reasonably practicable after such materials are filed with, or furnished to the SEC. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and you should not consider information contained on our website to be part of this prospectus.

We and our operating partnership are required to file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. This prospectus does not contain all of the information set forth in the registration statement. For further information with respect to our company, our operating partnership and the securities to be registered, we refer you to the registration statement, including the exhibits, schedules and information incorporated by reference into the registration statement. Statements contained in this prospectus as to the contents of any contract or other document referred to in this prospectus are not necessarily complete and, where that contract or other document has been filed as an exhibit to or incorporated by reference into the registration statement, each statement in this prospectus is qualified in all respects by the exhibit to which the reference relates. Copies of the registration statement, and other documents that we file with the SEC, may be examined without charge at the public reference room of the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20549. Information about the operation of the public reference room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0300. Copies of all or a portion of the registration statement can be obtained from the public reference room of the SEC upon payment of prescribed fees. In addition, our SEC filings also are available electronically to the public on the SEC’s website at https://www.sec.gov.

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INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE

The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” certain information that we file with the SEC, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus. Any statement contained in a document that is incorporated by reference in this prospectus is automatically updated and superseded if information contained in this prospectus modifies or replaces this information. In this prospectus, we are incorporating by reference the following documents that we filed with the SEC:

We also incorporate by reference into this prospectus additional documents that we may file with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, or 15(d) of the Exchange Act from the date of this prospectus until we have sold all of the securities to which this prospectus relates or the offering is otherwise terminated; provided, however that we are not incorporating any information furnished under either Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of any Current Report on Form 8-K, unless otherwise indicated therein.

We will provide free of charge to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom a prospectus is delivered, on written or oral request of that person, a copy of any or all of the documents we are incorporating by reference into this prospectus, other than exhibits to those documents unless those exhibits are specifically incorporated by reference into those documents. You may request a copy of these filings by contacting Investor Relations, 30601 Agoura Road, Suite 200, Agoura Hills, California 91301, by telephone at (855)-794-2447, by e-mail at investors@ah4r.com, or by visiting our website, https://americanhomes4rent.com.

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED ON OUR WEBSITE IS NOT A PART OF THIS PROSPECTUS.

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PART II. INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

The following table sets forth the costs and expenses, other than underwriting discounts and commissions, payable by us in connection with the sale and distribution of the securities being registered. All amounts except the SEC registration fee are estimated.

Section 17-108 of the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act (“DRULPA”) empowers a Delaware limited partnership to indemnify and hold harmless any partner or other person from and against all claims and demands whatsoever, subject to such standards and restrictions, if any, as are set forth in its partnership agreement. The Agreement of Limited Partnership, as amended, of American Homes 4 Rent, L.P. (the “Partnership Agreement”) provides for indemnification of us and our officers and trustees to the fullest extent provided by the DRULPA, unless it is established by a final determination of a court of competent jurisdiction that (i) the act or omission of either of us and our officers and trustees was material in the matter giving rise to the proceeding and either was committed in bad faith or was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty, (ii) either of us and our officers and trustees actually received an improper personal benefit in money, property or services, or (iii) in the case of any criminal proceeding, either of us and our officers and trustees had reasonable cause to believe the act or omission was unlawful. The indemnity shall extend to any liability of us and our officers and trustees pursuant to a loan guarantee, contractual obligation for indebtedness or other obligation or otherwise, for any indebtedness of our operating partnership or any subsidiary of our operating partnership. Further, the indemnification provided in the Partnership Agreement shall not limit any other right to indemnification of us and our officers and trustees provided under any agreement, pursuant to a vote of our operating partnership, as a matter of law or otherwise. Set forth below are the indemnification arrangements applicable to us.

The Maryland statute governing REITs formed under the laws of that state, or the Maryland REIT law, permits a Maryland REIT to include in its declaration of trust a provision limiting the liability of its trustees and officers to the trust and its shareholders for money damages except for liability resulting from actual receipt of an improper benefit or profit in money, property or services or active and deliberate dishonesty established by a final judgment as being material to the cause of action. Our declaration of trust contains such a provision that eliminates such liability to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law.

The Maryland REIT law permits a Maryland REIT to indemnify and advance expenses to its trustees, officers, employees and agents to the same extent as permitted by the MGCL for directors and officers of a Maryland corporation. The MGCL requires a corporation (unless its charter provides otherwise, which our charter does not) to indemnify a director or officer who has been successful, on the merits or otherwise, in the

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defense of any proceeding to which he or she is made or threatened to be made a party by reason of his or her service in that capacity. The MGCL permits a corporation to indemnify its present and former directors and officers, among others, against judgments, penalties, fines, settlements and reasonable expenses actually incurred by them in connection with any proceeding to which they may be made or are threatened to be made a party by reason of their service in those or other capacities unless it is established that:

However, under the MGCL, a Maryland corporation may not indemnify a director or officer for an adverse judgment in a suit by or in the right of the corporation or if the director or officer was adjudged liable on the basis that personal benefit was improperly received, unless in either case a court orders indemnification and then only for expenses.

In addition, the MGCL permits a corporation to advance reasonable expenses to a director or officer upon the corporation’s receipt of:

Our declaration of trust and bylaws obligate us, to the fullest extent permitted by Maryland law in effect from time to time, to indemnify and to pay or reimburse reasonable expenses in advance of final disposition of a proceeding to:

Our declaration of trust and bylaws also permit us, with the approval of our board of trustees, to indemnify and advance expenses to any person who served a predecessor of ours in any of the capacities described above and to any employee or agent of our company or a predecessor of our company.

We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our trustees and executive officers that provide for indemnification to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law.

Insofar as the foregoing provisions permit indemnification of trustees, officers or persons controlling us for liability arising under the Securities Act, we and our operating partnership have been informed that, in the opinion of the SEC, this indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

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EXHIBIT INDEX

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(a) The undersigned registrants hereby undertake:

(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of this registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in this registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and

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(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this registration statement or any material change to such information in this registration statement; provided, however, that subparagraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) of this section do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in this registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of this registration statement.

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

(4) That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:

(A) Each prospectus filed by either registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in this registration statement; and

(B) Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in this registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of this registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into this registration statement or prospectus that is part of this registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in this registration statement or prospectus that was part of this registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date.

(5) That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrants under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities:

Each of the undersigned registrants undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of such undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, such undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, each registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and each registrant has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Agoura Hills, State of California, on December 1, 2017.

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POWER OF ATTORNEY

Each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints David P. Singelyn, Diana M. Laing, David Goldberg, Sara H. Vogt-Lowell and Stephanie Heim, and each of them, as his or her attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution and resubstitution for him or her in any and all capacities, to sign any or all amendments or post-effective amendments to this Registration Statement, or any Registration Statement for the same offering that is to be effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith or in connection with the registration of the shares under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto such attorney-in-fact and agent full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary in connection with such matters and hereby ratifying and confirming all that such attorney-in-fact and agent or his or her substitutes may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons on behalf of each registrant in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and the registrant has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Agoura Hills, State of California, on December 1, 2017.

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POWER OF ATTORNEY

Each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints David P. Singelyn, Diana M. Laing, David Goldberg, Sara H. Vogt-Lowell and Stephanie Heim, and each of them, as his or her attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution and resubstitution for him or her in any and all capacities, to sign any or all amendments or post-effective amendments to this Registration Statement, or any Registration Statement for the same offering that is to be effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith or in connection with the registration of the shares under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto such attorney-in-fact and agent full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary in connection with such matters and hereby ratifying and confirming all that such attorney-in-fact and agent or his or her substitutes may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons on behalf of the registrant in their capacities and on the dates indicated.

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