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Director Thompson,

Please take a moment to read my perspective. I tend to slide liberal on social issues, but rent control is not one of them.

Most of the real estate work I do is representing landlords in the Chicago area since the start of 2012, and I am a very active agent. I also grew up in rentals, and my husband and I rented together for our first 19 years.

I believe that rent control is one of those things that actually hurts the very people it's designed to help. If the cost of everything else a local landlord spends money on goes up, and they are not able to raise the rent, folks can be rest assured there will be cuts someplace. Forget about rehabbing! I'm talking standard maintenance cuts. The extermination contract may get cancelled in exchange for a can of bug spray. The needed roof repair may get kicked down the road with basic spot patches of sealant. And so on. Cuts like that leave the tenants to live in substandard housing, because they know if they decide to move, they'll be looking at the market rate, which will be much higher than they're accustomed. It's the old "keep your head down and mouth shut" routine.

And when that local landlord has made every cut they can, and duct tape just isn't working anymore, they will sell - quite possibly to a large corporation who will instill high application standards and at much higher prices after the big, fancy rehab they can easily afford to do. Or, the building will go condo, perhaps with owner-only requirements.

Therefore, while folks who know me know I wear my heart on my sleeve, rent control is not something that I can get behind.

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to your Request for Input (RFI) on how the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), in its oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, can best provide affordable housing opportunities for renters. Approximately 40% of the National Association of REALTORS®'s (NAR) 1.5 million members own at least one rental housing unit, playing a vital role in providing safe, quality, and affordable housing in neighborhoods nationwide.

As the FHFA examines ways to improve access to affordable housing, it is critical to acknowledge the most significant driver of housing unaffordability is the limited supply of available housing. According to NAR data, the United States has an underproduction gap of over 5.5 million units – a key underlying reason housing costs have increased. On top of this, inflation has increased the prices of goods and services for all Americans. As housing providers strive to provide affordable housing opportunities in their communities, they also contend with rising mortgage rates and increased costs for supplies, services, and maintenance. When inflation is high, the prices of materials increase. That means it becomes exceedingly more expensive for construction teams to build new homes or renovate existing ones. Ultimately, these high costs spill into the housing market and lift home prices for new builds and existing housing.

As REALTORS®, we are committed to upholding the very specific provisions of our contracts with residents, and we often go above and beyond what is required to ensure residents have safe, quality, and affordable places to live. Rental housing is a deeply complex issue that is unique to every community. Creating additional layers of policies to a space that is already heavily regulated by state and local governments will have severe unintended consequences for renters as housing providers are leaving the market in communities where affordable housing is sorely needed.

Affordable housing is pivotal to creating paths to upward mobility for people across the country. I appreciate your commitment to ensuring we achieve this goal without impeding the creation of much-needed housing supply. Lori Dake