Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Mark Calabria sent a letter on October 23 to NLIHC and the National Housing Law Project (NHLP) responding to the organizations’ request that FHFA provide tenants written notice of their rights under the federal eviction moratorium. NLIHC and NHLP sent a letter on September 15 to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, HUD Secretary Ben Carson, Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, and FHFA Director Mark Calabria urging the agencies to require federally supported rental property owners and housing authorities to provide tenants written notice of their rights under the CDC eviction moratorium and the steps they must take to be protected (see Memo, 9/21).
In his letter, Director Calabria writes that FHFA is considering NLIHC’s and NHLP’s request that owners of federally supported rental properties be required to notify tenants of the CDC order. He notes that since Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) are not part of the tenant/landlord relationship, they have a limited ability to impose notification requirements on landlords outside of the context of forbearance.
Director Calabria states that FHFA has worked closely with the Enterprises to provide online resources relevant to multifamily tenants and owners. FHFA on October 29 released a fact sheet on federal protections for tenants during the COVID-19 national emergency. The fact sheet summarizes federal tenant protections under the CARES Act and the CDC order, outlines additional protections for tenants in Enterprise-backed multifamily properties, and directs tenants to Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s multifamily property lookup tools. NLIHC urged FHFA in April to make publicly available information on multifamily properties protected under the CARES Act eviction moratorium (see Memo, 5/11).
Additionally, Director Calabria outlines the steps FHFA and the Enterprises have taken to support tenants by offering relief to multifamily property owners through forbearance and establishing additional tenant protections. FHFA announced on June 29 that the Enterprises will allow mortgage services to extend forbearance agreements for multifamily property owners. As a condition of forbearance, the property owner must suspend evictions for nonpayment of rent for the duration of the forbearance period (see Memo, 7/6). To increase awareness of available tenant protections, FHFA announced on August 6 that multifamily property owners with Enterprise-backed mortgages who enter into a new or modified forbearance agreement must inform tenants in writing about tenant protections during the owner’s forbearance and repayment periods (see Memo, 8/10).
Director Calabria says the Enterprises are taking steps to address allegations of noncompliance with applicable law, including the CDC order. If evidence of a violation is found, the Enterprises will notify the property’s servicer to ensure that the borrower is aware of eviction protections provided in the CDC order. Any borrowers that fail to comply with federal law may be subject to remedies under the loan documents. Director Calabria states that FHFA is considering whether additional steps can be taken.
Read Director Calabria’s letter at: https://bit.ly/3664vB8
Read NLIHC’s letter to FHFA at: https://bit.ly/32aGnvW
View FHFA’s fact sheet on tenant protections at: https://bit.ly/38cKsUb