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  • Comment Detail

  • Date: 07/31/23
    First Name: Kim
    Last Name: McCarty
    Email: kmccarty@oregoncat.org
    Organization Type: other
    Organization: Community Alliance of Tenants

  • Comment

    The government is in business with many landlords, offering them favorable loan terms to finance their businesses and, sometimes, enabling their predatory behavior. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, also known as the “Government Sponsored Enterprises,” work with banks to offer $150 billion to landlords in financing every year, without any strings attached. Communities need and deserve stipulations on these funds to ensure community investment, undoing historic harms of racial segregation and protections of tenants so that they can stay and thrive in their communities.

    The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Fannie and Freddie, should condition government-backed loans on a set of tenant protections. These protections could include regulations on rent hikes and evictions, housing safety requirements, bans on discrimination, affirmatively furthering fair housing, and requirements to invest in underserved communities. If this is done it could benefit over 12.4 million rental homes across the country.