Comment Detail

Comment

As a homeowner concerned about the impact of badly managed rental properties on my neighborhood and my city, I ask that you condition government-backed loans on adequate tenant protections.

Affordable housing is extremely scarce in Kansas City, and this makes it all too easy for landlords who only care about the bottom line — and not about providing decent housing — to take advantage of tenants.

Landlords should be required to keep properties in good condition and free of mold, insects and rodents — or deteriorating structural problems — that threaten the health and well being of tenants and their families.

Leases need to be clear and understandable and tenants need clear protections from excessive rent increases and evictions without cause. I suggest a cap of no more than 1.5 times the CPI.

Rentals need to be free of discrimination against tenants based on ethnicity, religion, gender or gender preference, disability status, family structure, or immigration status. Tenants also deserve a right to organize.

I ask that the FHFA make these protections standard requirements for all rental properties that have federally backed mortgages. I further ask that any landlord who is in default of these criteria no longer be eligible for loans backed by the FHFA.