As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 15, 2019

Registration No. 333-221878

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Post-Effective

Amendment No. 1

to

FORM S-3

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

AMERICAN HOMES 4 RENT

AMERICAN HOMES 4 RENT, L.P.

(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, please 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, please 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, indicate 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

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement on Form S-3 (Registration No. 333-221878) of American Homes 4 Rent (the “Company”) and American Homes 4 Rent, L.P. (the “Registration Statement”) is being filed solely to deregister the guarantees of American Residential Properties OP, L.P. that were covered by the Registration Statement and to remove American Residential Properties OP, L.P. as an additional subsidiary guarantor co-registrant. This Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 shall become effective immediately upon filing with the SEC. The base prospectus to the Registration Statement will be updated accordingly in a future filing with the SEC.

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 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

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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 January 15, 2019.

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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