President Biden announced on July 16 a proposal to temporarily cap rent increases by large landlords at 5% for two years, a policy that would affect half of all rental properties in the U.S. Additionally, President Biden called on federal agencies to assess surplus federal land that could be repurposed to build more affordable housing.
The Biden-Harris administration is calling on Congress to pass legislation providing corporate landlords with a choice: either cap rent increases on existing units at no more than 5% or lose existing valuable federal tax breaks. The plan would apply to landlords with over 50 units in their portfolio for the next two years and would include an exception for new development and substantial renovation or rehabilitation.
While NLIHC supports urging Congress to enact legislation to prevent rent gouging through reasonable rent stabilization, the Biden administration can and should immediately implement clear, strong, and enforceable renter protections through the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), including those renter protections enshrined in the National Tenants Bill of Rights published last month by NLIHC and other national leaders. Such action would prevent housing instability and homelessness for many tenants, redress long-standing racial and social inequities, and advance housing justice. The comprehensive policy agenda laid out in the National Tenants Bill of Rights includes banning unreasonable rent increases to provide greater predictability and stability for renters.
“President Biden’s proposal to temporarily cap rent hikes to prevent rent gouging is historic,” said NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel. “Recent, unprecedented increases in homelessness in communities across the country are the direct result of equally unprecedented – and unjustified – rent hikes that occurred in the pandemic’s aftermath. Had such protections against rent gouging been in place then, many families could have avoided homelessness and stayed stably housed. But rather than waiting for Congress to advance anti-rent gouging measures after the election, President Biden can and should take action now to put in place these and other critical protections for renters living in properties with federally backed mortgages, as called for by NLIHC and renters nationwide.”
President Biden also announced additional actions to repurpose federal land to build affordable housing. The administration will work with federal agencies with land disposition authorities and agencies that provide financing tools for housing to build more affordable housing across the country. HUD also announced $325 million in Choice Neighborhoods grants to build new deeply affordable homes, spur economic development, and revitalize neighborhoods.
Read the White House announcement at: https://tinyurl.com/2edmn25c
Read NLIHC’s press statement at: https://tinyurl.com/wbp4r2z7
Learn more about the National Tenants Bill of Rights at: https://nlihc.org/national-tenants-bill-rights