Comment Detail

Comment

July 17, 2023

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

Dear Director Thompson,

We are taking this opportunity to provide feedback on the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Request for Information on tenant protections, because FHFA should and could be the model for states and localities. My name is Catherine Rodman. As a legal services attorney, I have represented tenants to defend against notices and evictions and protect their right to decent and affordable housing for nearly 4 decades. After 12 years with Legal Aid Society of San Diego, I joined Affordable Housing Advocates, in 1996, so that I could continue to represent tenants in impact litigation and advocacy and regardless of their documentation status.

I am writing to share my experience and to urge FHFA to take bold action to create clear, strong, and enforceable renter protections for households living in rental properties with federally backed mortgages. Given the broad reach of FHFA’s work, any renter protections created by FHFA should cover a significant share of renters across the nation and put America on a pathway towards stronger protections for all renters.

Federal renter protections are critically needed to address the power imbalance between landlords and renters that puts renters at great risk of housing instability, harassment, and homelessness and perpetuates racial and gender inequity. To help ensure housing stability, FHFA should adopt the following reasonable and effective renter protections for households living in properties with federally backed mortgages:

1. Prohibit landlords from discriminating against households based on source of income, including prohibiting discrimination against tenants who receive rental housing assistance, such as Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers or emergency assistance through the Rapid Rehousing Program, as well as local rental assistance, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or so that families and the disabled can have greater choice about where to live.

2. Require “just cause” for eviction or failure to renew a lease, so that tenants cannot be evicted for no or an improper reason, such as discrimination or retaliation.

3. Protect tenants against “rent-gouging”, by imposing reasonable caps on rent increases.

4. Require that housing is safe, decent, accessible, and healthy for renters and their families.

5. Require that leases inform tenants of these protections.

I have seen what happens in communities without strong and enforceable tenant protections. The City of San Diego did not adopt local just cause protections until 2004, and the State of California did not adopt them until 2019. Chula Vista adopted protections, effective March 1, 2023, and the City of San Diego amended its Regulations, effective June 24, 2023.

The City of San Diego’s 2004 Regulations did not require that landlords’ advise tenants of their rights under the Regulations, only that they comply with them by giving notice of good cause when terminating a tenancy. As a result, most tenants had no idea they were protected and moved out after receiving a no-cause notice of termination.

“Just cause” requirements promote housing stability by limiting the grounds for eviction. They are imposed in a growing number of jurisdictions without regard to whether a landlord has received financial support from the government, based on the community’s sense of fairness. Individuals and families should not be uprooted on a whim or worse. Imposing reasonable just cause requirements, disallowing economic evictions, discrimination based on income source and requiring that assisted units are habitable, are minimums which FHFA should require of all landlords.

We urge FHFA to take bold action to implement mandatory, standardized protections – paired with strong enforcement – for all households living in properties with federally backed mortgages, whether large or small. FHFA must continue to engage tenants and directly impacted people throughout its process of establishing and implementing renter protections, and protections must be centered on racial and social equity as explicit goals. These protections– along with large-scale, sustained investments and anti-racist reforms – are necessary to ensure that everyone, including the lowest-income and most marginalized renters, have a safe, quality, affordable, and accessible place to call home.

Sincerely,

Catherine A. Rodman, Esq., Director
Affordable Housing Advocates