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I am a tenant living in the Bronx. My name is Jhoselyn, and I am a member of the Homes Guarantee Campaign. I was born and raised in NYC and sadly I have been pushed out of different neighborhoods throughout the years due to rent hikes. Queens became overpriced where my landlord was asking for $1,500 for a one-bedroom apartment in a roach infested apartment building back in 2013. We relocated to East Harlem where we lived in a small, walk up “2” bedroom apartment where the rent was $1,400 back in 2014. We felt like it was too good to be true and sadly it was. After a city inspection in late 2016, our building was deemed an illegal dwelling and we were once again looking to relocate. Finally in 2017 we found a three-bedroom apartment in the Bronx. The tenant before us was paying $1,600 but our lease started at $1,900 and it has recently increased to $2,100. We have been navigating all of these challenges while raising children, pursuing higher education, and starting my career as a public-school teacher. Unfortunately, as a teacher in the Bronx and now East Harlem, I have met too many students and families who are currently living in shelters because they simply cannot afford the high rents either. Landlords are raising rents at the highest rates in over 40 years. In 2023, there is not a single state where a worker employed full-time at the federal minimum wage can afford a modest two-bedroom apartment.

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.

Sincerely,
Jhoselyn