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  • Comment Detail

  • Date: 07/31/23
    First Name: Jeanne
    Last Name: Moe
    Email: jmoe53@gmail.com
    Organization Type: other
    Organization: Bozeman Tenants United + Homes Guarantee Campaign

  • Comment

    My name is Jeanne and I am a member of Bozeman Tenants United and the Homes Guarantee Campaign. I am not a tenant in Bozeman. However, I have a good friend who was forced to leave Bozeman after living and working here for more than 20 years. I have heard many similar stories. I am very fortunate to own my home and I want others in my community to be able to remain here. I want for everyone to have access to safe and truly affordable housing. Thank you for considering my comments and I hope that you will act to help keep rent affordable for my neighbors and friends.

    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, 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.