The NLIHC Tenant Leader Cohort sent a letter to the White House and leaders of federal agencies including HUD, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, and the U.S. Department of Justice on December 5. The letter was sent following a November 14 meeting at the White House about tenant protections and housing affordability. The letter addresses five policy goals for strengthening renter protections discussed by the cohort during the meeting. The letter also expresses gratitude to the Biden-Harris administration for its interest in advancing tenant protections and for inviting people with lived expertise, housing and homelessness advocates, researchers, and legal aid advocates working with directly impacted people to discuss protections and inform officials about how current policies impact lives and communities.
The five policy goals addressed by the letter are as follows: (1) addressing past and current inequalities by incorporating racial and disability equity in all aspects of policymaking, (2) rebalancing the power between landlords and tenants and holding landlords and institutions accountable, (3) ensuring tenant representation by having tenants present for every decision made about their homes and communities, (4) prioritizing housing that is deeply affordable and accessible for people with the lowest incomes and greatest needs, (5) increasing resources to help low-income people become homeowners and maintain financial stability.
NLIHC’s Tenant Leader Cohort is a group of tenant advocates and community leaders with lived experience of housing insecurity who work towards housing justice and racial equity in their neighborhoods and greater communities. NLIHC collaborates with the Tenant Leader Cohort to inform our policy priorities so that these priorities best reflect the needs of low-income renters.
Read the letter here.