Comment Detail

Comment

To Director Thompson:

it was almost impossible to find an affordable place to live after the landlord forced us out because they sold the units to a local school to become a parking lot. this place was all i could find that was affordable in that short period to move. this location has many problems - the outlet doesn't work and central air is out. it's summer and i can't breathe in my own home. i have to go to the church next door only during designated hours to get some cool air. what's the landlord even doing with the money?

The rent is too damn high. The Federal Housing Finance Agency should protect tenants by limiting annual rent hikes to 1.5 times the Consumer Price Index or 3%, whichever is lower, in properties with federally backed mortgages. These limits should be applied universally as a requirement to all federally backed mortgage programs.

In addition to limits on rent hikes, the FHFA should prohibit evictions without good cause, ban source of income discrimination, enforce and expand existing protections against discrimination, require safe and accessible housing conditions, create a landlord registry, require fair and standardized leases, ensure tenants have the right to organize, and create an Office of Tenant Protections to enforce these rights in all properties with federally backed mortgages.