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  • Comment Detail

  • Date: 07/27/23
    First Name: Laura
    Last Name: Wolf-Powers
    Email: laura@wolf-powers.com
    Organization Type: state government
    Organization: Hunter College, City University of New York

  • Comment

    Dear FHFA:
    I understand that you are in the midst of deciding whether to require tenant protections as a condition of certain government-backed housing loans that you regulate. I am writing to urge you to insist upon these desperately needed protections. As the attached report demonstrates, government-guaranteed loans are supporting the acquisition of properties that owners are milking for cash (by pulling equity out upon refinancing) and failing to maintain in decent condition. In NYC, where I live and teach, owners who have benefited from government-guaranteed financing are working to push rent-stablilized tenants out using harassment and unjustified eviction proceedings. This needs to stop, and it is in HFHA's power to do so. Thank you for helping to use the power of government to discourage harmful, bad faith behavior The longer this behavior continues, the worse housing instability and economic inequality will become. Sincerely, Laura Wolf-Powers, Associate Professor of Urban Policy & Planning, Hunter College CUNY.