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  • Comment Detail

  • Date: 07/31/23
    First Name: Devin
    Last Name: Glaser
    Email: dglaser@ccsww.org
    Organization Type: other
    Organization: Tenant Law Center

  • Comment

    I am a staff attorney with the Tenant Law Center, where we serve low-income tenants facing eviction and displacement in King County, Washington.

    I write to you to ask that you require landlords who obtain financial guarantees or benefits through federal programs, such as Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, to guarantee tenants protections against abusive and predatory rent increases.

    Tenants in Washington state do not have access to any state-based protections limiting rent increases. This means that landlords who benefit from financial guarantees from the federal government can extract huge rent increases from their tenants. These huge rent increases push tenants out of their homes and communities.

    Communities of color and other communities that have faced a history of discrimination and disinvestment are being displaced from their neighborhoods. Those who cannot keep up with the rising costs of rent eventually fall into houselessness. In King County, we currently have 50,000 people living unhoused, a number that continues to rise as rents increase dramatically in our region.

    As the federal government, you have both the power and the responsibility to help prevent displacement and ensure tenants are able to stay in their homes.

    Beyond requiring landlords limit rent increases, I also ask you to include protections for tenants that include:
    • Just Cause Protections, requiring a “just cause” before terminating a tenancy.
    • Ban Source of Income Discrimination, and prevent landlords from using tenant screening tools that have disproportionate impacts on communities of color, such as refusing to rent to people with eviction histories, criminal records, or other metrics that disproportionately impact historically marginalized communities.
    • Ensure tenants have a right to organize, so they can advocate for their needs without the need for an attorney.
    • Requiring landlords to ensure housing is safe, well-maintained, and accurately monitored via a landlord registry.

    Thank you for considering the ways in which you can assist tenants,

    Sincerely,
    Devin Glaser
    Staff Attorney
    Tenant Law Center