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  • Comment Detail

  • Date: 07/25/23
    First Name: Seraphina
    Last Name: Ferraro
    Email: ms.phina@gmail.com
    Organization Type: N/A
    Organization: Homes Guarantee Campaign

  • Comment

    My name is Seraphina and I am a tenant living in [CITY/STATE]. I am a member of the Homes Guarantee Campaign.

    I have been living in Philadelphia for my entire life. Until COVID, things seemed relatively reasonable. I was able to rent a one bedroom for a sensible amount of money and maintain a lifestyle that was, while not extravagant by any means, comfortable. I wasn't late on bills and wasn't worried about finances overmuch. Three years into COVID, my rent has doubled and I'm constantly worried that I'm going to be unable to make ends meet. It is absolutely ridiculous that I'm going through this, and I worry about neighbors and community members that do not have the kind of work that I do, whose struggles are almost certainly worse.

    The rent is too damn high. 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,