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  • Comment Detail

  • Date: 07/20/23
    First Name: Megha
    Last Name: Neelapu
    Email: megha7272@gmail.com
    Organization Type: other
    Organization: Not Me We

  • Comment

    My name is Megha and I am a tenant living in Philadelphia, PA. I am a member of the Homes Guarantee Campaign.

    In the area where I live, most people are renters and increasing rents and affordable housing are big concerns of ours. 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. This is unacceptable.

    I believe 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.

    In addition to limits on rent hikes, the FHFA should prohibit evictions without good cause, ban source of income discrimination, enforce and expand existing protections against discrimination, require safe and accessible housing conditions, create a landlord registry, require fair and standardized leases, ensure tenants have the right to organize, and create an Office of Tenant Protections to enforce these rights in all properties with federally backed mortgages.

    Sincerely,
    Megha