A White House that has had a remarkable number of accomplishments in its first two years with razor-thin congressional majorities behind it is kicking off the next two years with an ambitious agenda to make the rent not so damn high. Some 35% of the population—44 million households—rent and have faced dramatic increases in rents in recent years, including an average 17.2% hike in one year from February 2021 to February 2022 and a total 26% during the pandemic. To try to combat this, the administration announced a multi-agency, multifaceted effort to “increase fairness in the rental market and further principles of fair housing.”
At the same time, President Joe Biden released a plan, a white paper from the White House Domestic Policy Council and National Economic Council called The Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights. The plan and the actions Biden has directed multiple federal agencies to take are meant to “advance a stronger, more equitable renter market,” according to the White House. “Renters should have access to housing that is safe, decent and affordable and should pay no more than 30 percent of household income on housing costs.”
Those agency activities are summed up in a White House fact sheet announcing the renter protections and affordability push.
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All of the actions the administration announced, it said, “exemplify the principles laid out in the Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights, which underscores key protections every renter deserves:”
- Safe, Quality, Accessible, and Affordable Housing: Renters should have access to housing that is safe, decent, and affordable.
- Clear and Fair Leases: Renters should have a clear and fair lease that has defined rental terms, rights, and responsibilities.
- Education, Enforcement, and Enhancement of Renter Rights: Federal, state, and local governments should do all they can to ensure renters know their rights and to protect renters from unlawful discrimination and exclusion.
- The Right to Organize: Renters should have the freedom to organize without obstruction or harassment from their housing provider or property manager.
- Eviction Prevention, Diversion, and Relief: Renters should be able to access resources that help them avoid eviction, ensure the legal process during an eviction proceeding is fair, and avoid future housing instability.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), both independent agencies, will be investigating unfair landlord practices in both the application process and rental agreements. “The two agencies will seek information on a broad range of practices that affect the rental market, including the creation and use of tenant background checks, the use of algorithms in tenant screenings, the provision of adverse action notices by landlords and property management companies, and how an applicant’s source of income factors into housing decisions.”
The CFPB will also immediately issue a guidance and start enforcement with the FTC on credit reporting companies in the rental application business, “to hold background check companies accountable for having unreasonable procedures.” The two agencies will find actions they can take to stop unfair practices that keep people from getting and/or keeping affordable housing.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency, an independent agency, is launching a public process to establish stronger renter protections as well as limits on “egregious rent increases for future investments.” It also announced that it will build on an affordability effort launched in the fall to increase the affordable housing stock through multifamily loans. “In 2022, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae purchased a combined $142 billion in multifamily loans supporting over one million units,” the White House said. “If the same activity holds in 2023, this would mean an investment in approximately 700,000 affordable units.”
The Department of Justice is going to hold a workshop with experts in housing law and in technology “around anti-competitive information sharing, including in rental markets.” That information-gathering process is intended to inform potential actions and guidance on anticompetitive practices in the rental market.
Housing and Urban Development is going to initiate rule-making to “require public housing authorities and owners of project-based rental assistance properties to provide at least 30 days’ advanced notice before terminating a lease due to nonpayment of rent.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Jamaal Bowman wrote to the administration asking for action to curb rising rents. They applauded the administration’s announcement. “For too long, corporations have had free rein to raise rents unchecked, price gouging families and raking in record profits,” Warren and Bowman said in a joint statement. “And for too many families, skyrocketing rental costs keep safe and affordable housing out of reach. We need real action now, and we owe it to families to pursue all options on the table to address the housing crisis and lower the cost of rent.”