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  • Comment Detail

  • Date: 10/17/22
    First Name: Zachary
    Last Name: Hunn
    Organization: Cape Tenants
    City: N/A
    State: N/A
    Attachment: N/A
    Number: RIN-2590-AB21

  • Comment

    Dear Director Thompson and FHFA team,

    My name is Zachary and I live in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. I’m writing in response to the FHFA Multifamily Enterprise Housing Goals Proposed Rule Comment Request: ‘Community Support Requirements, (No. 2022–N–11) Multifamily Enterprise Housing Goals Proposed Rule.

    I am fortunate in my city to pay an amount that it below the average rent price in my city. However, there is no security from month to month to protect me from rent price increases. I hear from people in our city whose rent will rise $100 or more in one month, with no improvements to their housing. A man was just killed in the street in broad daylight around the corner from my apartment, but I can't afford to move to a safer neighborhood. I had to take out predatory title loans just to have the down payment and first month's rent, on top of the costs to transfer utilities. I'm still paying off debt, seven years later, due to predatory loans I've had to take on when moving apartments. This is not sustainable for millions of young people like me who are burdened with debt accrued just from trying to start their lives.

    The rent is too damn high and I’m counting on FHFA to take every possible action to regulate rents for all properties with federally backed mortgages. If our public money is financing the business of making money on our homes, the least that you can do as a regulator is attach conditions to these resources that benefit the people. FHFA has successfully taken bold action in the past to help protect tenants during COVID-19 and to look out for residents of manufactured housing, and I am counting on FHFA to take similar action to help tenants like me during this time of intense economic hardship.

    I am a member of Cape Tenants and a leader with the Homes Guarantee campaign. The Homes Guarantee campaign is led by over 52 tenant-led organizations from all corners of the country. We have a long term vision for a world where everyone has access to safe, sustainable and TRULY affordable housing. In the short term we are organizing to win an executive order on rent regulation from the President— see more here: https://damnhighrent.com

    Thank you for your attention to this matter. If you would like to get in touch with me, please contact Grace White, the Homes Guarantee Organizer at g.white@peoplesaction.org.
    Sincerely,
    Zachary