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It's a scary time to be a tenant. Rents are rising much faster than our income, and it creates constant stress. If feels like there are few (if any) avenues to get fair treatment from landlords. If you don't have a lot of money (which most tenants don't), then you really are at the whim of the landlord who, at the end of the day, is trying to make a profit off of a human necessity. I had to move out of an apartment recently because my landlord refused to make repairs and to handle a severe roach infestation. It was clear to me that the reason the landlord didn't want to make repairs and handle the infestation was because he wanted to force tenants out so that he could make aesthetic changes to the units and raise the rents. It was a scary situation for me because I didn't know if I'd be able to find affordable housing anywhere else, but I knew it was far to unsafe to continue to reside in a home that was full of roaches and mold. I was extremely fortunate to learn about an open apartment near a family members home. It was roach free and only a little bit more a month. I was able to get out, but many of the tenants I lived with in my old building had to stay in suffer because they couldn't find another place to go that wouldn't charge a rent that consumed most of their take home pay. Safe, affordable housing is a necessity, and tenants have a right to be treated respectfully. While landlords often see their properties as investments, tenants - especially those who are low-income - see them as a means of survival. The FHFA can help make landlords treat tenant housing like the necessity it is.

I recommend that the FHFA include tenant protections that:
- Ban source of income discrimination so that people with vouchers and other payment methods are treated like second class citizens because they are just trying to afloat like everyone else in this society.
- Enforce rent regulation so that landlords can't uproot peoples' lives whenever they decide they want to turn a bigger profit. Tenants' homes are directly connected with every other aspect of their lives, including their family's education, jobs, social connections, and access to resources like food and healthcare. Landlords must recognize this when they are dealing with real people who need real homes.
- Safety and quality standards that require landlords to maintain their rental housing without making tenants fearful that their safe, quality housing will lead to increased rent. The maintenance of a rental by landlords should not be contingent on increased profit.

Tenants are not second-class citizens. It is not shameful to be a tenant. Now is the time to ensure tenants get the quaility, affordable housing that we all deserve. I trust that government will do what is right for the people, not just what's prefered by those interested in a profit.

Sincerely,
Raaziq