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  • Comment Detail

  • Date: 07/31/23
    First Name: Dani
    Last Name: Woods
    Email: danniwoods@gmail.com
    Organization Type: N/A
    Organization: Bozeman Tenants United + Homes Guarantee Campaign

  • Comment

    "My name is Dani Woods and I am a tenant living in Helena, MT. I am a member of Bozeman Tenants United and the Homes Guarantee Campagin.

    I unfortunately left Bozeman this past winter after my job ending. I realized that there was no way I was going to make enough pay to live comfortably in Bozeman, so chose to live elsewhere in the state. The only way to stay in Bozeman was to try and live with friends that owned homes, and that isn't the most sustainable option. The last rental property I stayed at, the rent increased from $1,800 to $3,100 since 2021. That's too much for anyone to be expected to pay on Bozeman wages.

    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,
    Dani"