Comment Detail

Comment

The Honorable Sandra Thompson
Federal Housing Finance Agency
Washington, D.C.

Dear Director Thompson,

Thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback on the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Request for Information on tenant protections. My name is Brahvan Ranga and I’m the political director at For the Many. We are a grassroots organization that works in the Hudson Valley, New York, to pass laws and win elections to transform our state to work for all of us, and not just the greedy few. We work on local and statewide policy and electoral campaigns, and housing is a central issue focus of ours. We work with working people across the Hudson Valley and the state who are dealing with the worst of the housing crisis every single day, and work to pass transformative laws to keep people in their homes and preserve affordability for all.
I am writing to urge FHFA to use its power to protect tenants from the worst of the housing crisis, by creating strong tenant protections in households living in rental properties with federally backed mortgages. This is both for the people living in those units, but to set the tone for the rest of the country.
In the midst of the housing crisis - with skyrocketing rents, evictions happening daily, and cascading effects of housing instability deteriorating our communities, the FHFA must enact the following protections:
“Good Cause” eviction standards, which limit the causes for which a landlord can evict a tenant or refuse to renew a tenant’s lease when the tenant is not at fault or in violation of any law, and protect tenants from unreasonable rent hikes, which are the equivalent of an eviction.
Enacting rent control in these units, to rework the power balance between tenants and landlords, and prevent landlords from unilaterally raising rents.
Source of income protections to prohibit landlords from discriminating against households receiving rental housing assistance such as Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or local rental assistance, so that families can have greater choice about where to live.
Rent gouging protections to stop landlords from dramatically and unreasonably raising rents.
Requirements to ensure housing is safe, decent, accessible, and healthy for renters and their families.
The Hudson Valley has been experiencing massive displacement, gentrification, and an eviction crisis - particularly in the past several years. Grassroots organizations like For the Many are doing what we can to pass laws and win elections to address this crisis and protect renters - but government agencies must also use their power to ensure housing is a guaranteed right for all, instead of a commodity exploited by the wealthy.

Sincerely,
Brahvan Ranga
For the Many