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Every year, my landlord hikes my rent by the maximum allowable amount. Thanks to rent stabilization, this is usually an increase that I can afford to pay. Without rent stabilization, one large rent increase might put me out on the street. In Oakland, a landlord can file for a special rent increase if they are not making a profit off of rent — this NEVER happens, because being a landlord, even of a rent-stabilized property, is extremely profitable. The Enterprises must make protecting tenants their number one priority. At minimum, the Enterprises should implement RENT CONTROL (with vacancy control) and JUST CAUSE FOR EVICTION PROTECTIONS in Enterprise-backed multifamily rental properties. RENT CONTROL provides stability for tenants by regulating rent increases. This both allows the landlord's profit to keep up with inflation and provides the tenant with the stability of being able to plan for and deal with small, yearly rent increases, preventing homelessness. Vacancy control will help tenants more easily find affordable housing. In Oakland, where there is no vacancy control, the biggest barrier to finding affordable housing is the lack of regulations that a landlord can charge on initial rents, when a tenant first moves in.

JUST CAUSE FOR EVICTION PROTECTIONS are part and parcel with RENT CONTROL and must be implemented together for either policy to have teeth. Without JUST CAUSE FOR EVICTION PROTECTIONS, a landlord could evict a tenant just because they might be able to get a higher rent from a new tenant (vacancy control would also eliminate this incentive). Without RENT CONTROL, a landlord could constructively evict a tenant by raising their rent to an extreme amount.

The Enterprises should also ban source of income discrimination AND ENFORCE THAT BAN, as well as enforce existing discrimination laws. Landlords in Oakland are easily able to evade discrimination bans with no consequences, leading to worse outcomes for poor and non-white tenants.

Ideally, the Enterprises would also implement and enforce safe, quality, accessible housing standards. My landlord has little incentive to keep my unit habitable. She routinely does the bare minimum, and I have dealt with mold and pests, poor heating in the winter, poor weather-sealing due to decrepit windows, and bad air quality due to the lack of ventilation in the kitchen, just to name a few.

These protections should be applied to all landlords with a federally backed-mortgage and all rental properties, including larger multifamily properties and smaller one-to-four-unit properties. Tenant protections should not be incentivized or volunteer based. Landlords who violate FHFA’s tenant protections should be found to be in technical default and should not be eligible for future loans.

I am excited that FHFA is looking into implementing federal tenant protections and am confident that, if implemented, these protections would dramatically improve the quality of life for my fellow tenants while not preventing landlords from making a profit.