By Vanessa Raymond-Garcia, RHLS Policy Analyst
The Biden-Harris Administration has published a Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights. The Administration’s effort to spotlight protections for renters when inflation is high, wages are stagnant, eviction rates are still up, and housing stock is low and being bought up by large private investors is a signal that widespread policy changes are being considered and adopted across multiple sectors and agencies. The Blueprint outlines five principles that advocates have been amplifying, especially during the COVID crisis: (1) access to safe, quality, accessible, and affordable housing, (2) clear and fair leases, (3) education, enforcement, and enhancement of renter rights, (4) the right to organize, and (5) eviction prevention, diversion, and relief.
In addition to calling on property owners and state and local governments to implement changes, the Administration is taking steps to further tenant protections. Among the many federal action announced:
- The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will start to identify practices that unfairly prevent applicants and tenants from accessing or staying in housing to inform enforcement and policy actions under each agency’s jurisdiction. These practices include: the creation and use of tenant background checks – including unreasonable procedures, 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 Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) will launch a new public process to examine proposed actions promoting renter protections and limits on egregious rent increases for future investments and establish requirements that encourage the financing of multifamily loans that guarantee affordable housing.
- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will publish a notice of proposed rulemaking that would 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.
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture will develop a model lease for USDA financed properties, similar to leases used in Section 8 properties.
- HUD is developing programs for funding and providing technical assistance to tenant organizations, while the Department of Defense will ensure that military members in government owned or private housing have the right to organize.
- HUD’s Eviction Prevention Grant Program will provide $20 million in 2023 for legal assistance for tenants.
The Administration is also launching the Resident-Centered Housing Challenge – a call to action this spring for participants across all levels of government, in the private sector, and in civil society to make tangible commitments that promote greater fairness and transparency in the rental market. They are looking for interested housing providers, property managers, investors, and state, local, tribal and territorial governments and housing agencies. If you would like to participate, complete this survey by April 28, 2023.