Skip to main content

  • Comment Detail

  • Date: 10/17/22
    First Name: Cee
    Last Name: W
    Organization: N/A
    City: N/A
    State: N/A
    Attachment: N/A
    Number: RIN-2590-AB21

  • Comment

    Dear Director Thompson and FHFA team, 

    My name is Cee and I live in Charleston, SC. 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 have never been able to live alone and do not believe I will ever be able to. This statement is true to many people in my life as well because we are forced to apartment hop nearly every year. I was living in an apartment that was already over $1660 a month + utilities and all the other bills that come with life. A few months before my renewal we received a letter from the property manager informing us that the rent would go up to over $2,000 and increases in the mandatory fees that came with living on the property (pest, trash pick up, etc). Now how are we supposed to come up with an additional $400 - $500 dollars within a few months? Especially when there are no upgrades to the apartment and no increases to my paycheck?? We left, but that does not solve the problem because all apartments are hiking of their prices and many are moving to a model where they do not keep a standard price but rely on the "market" and change their prices daily. So let's say you find an apartment that is $1550. If you go in and they only have one more to rent out it will be over $2k because now its more valuable to them. Many people are forced to rent for life and are at the mercy (mainly lack of mercy) of huge corporate landlords who can increase the rent with no cap each year. Families are expected to be magicians and come up with more money within a few months or leave. And not only are is the rent going up - so are food, medical bills, gas, utilities, everything. Just because they want more money. It is unjust.

    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 SC Housing Justice Network 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,  
    Cee