Comment Detail

Comment

Director Thompson,

My complaint relative to the Tenant Protection Actnof 2019 and other Governmental Rules on rentals and leases is as follows:
All rules should be the sake whether Government affiliated, or not, i.e. HUD Affordable Housing institutes a rule that Landlord's must give a 90 day Notice to Vacate to a Tenant, yet when not government affiliated, the ruke is a 60 day notice shall be given to the tenant by the landlord.
Consistency is the key here.
Landlords are being penalized by 30 days when they are wanting to place their property on the market to sell.
Rules should be written to Landlord's and Realtors relative to Cr Scores and the 2.5 or 3x the rent for income.
I have heard from HUD Section 8 Recipients that Realtors are wrongly calculating the qualification factors on the full amount of rent rather than 40% of gross, as a way not to accept a HUD S8 Applicant, as well as a credit score below 700.
Some recipients are having a heck of a time raising the children, hence the assistance program. There should be a minimum to help not hinder, say 640 minimum, or possibly 600+.

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. Mary Ann Weigner