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  • Comment Detail

  • Date: 07/31/23
    First Name: Adrianna
    Last Name: Jones
    Email: jadrianna42@gmail.com
    Organization Type: other
    Organization: Bozeman Tenants United + Homes Guarantee Campaign

  • Comment

    I am a renter in Bozeman, Montana and I have heard of these annual rent increases from several fellow people around me, such as my coworkers and friends. In fact, just last year, three out of my six coworkers were undergoing an evaluation for their rentals. The result of these evaluations would decide just how many hundreds of dollars the rent would increase from that point on. My coworkers and I were very lucky to have a good employer who looked into a wage reform and we were all given a small pay increase to accommodate the rent increases so many of our people were receiving.
    I have not personally been affected by a rent increase, but the very real possibility of it weighs on me heavily. I am currently paying more than 50% of my monthly income to ensure my son and I will continue to have a place to call home. I don’t expect much from my landlords and very seldom bother them for maintenance in my unit or any other concerns. I should not in any life have to fight this hard to ensure I have a safe, healthy home to live my life in. The rent is too damn high and we the people are demanding change that will greatly improve the quality of lives and much more.
    We deserve better. We will fight for better.

    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.

    Sincerely,
    Adrianna J