Ask Congress to Oppose Forced Foreclosure and Alarmist Renter Notification Proposals

Call To Action

On May 7, the U.S. House of Representatives approved mortgage reform legislation (H.R. 1728) that includes provisions that could be used to prematurely force apartment properties into bankruptcy and then sell them at a lower price to an entity that guarantees to convert them to affordable housing. The bill also includes an unnecessarily alarming renter notification provisions. A comparable forced foreclosure amendment was also proposed but withdrawn from S. 896.

NMHC is actively opposing these very onerous proposals, and we need your help. As the House and Senate work to conference these measures, we need members to contact their lawmakers to strongly oppose the inclusion of these amendments in final legislation.

Backround

The legislation would allow the government to intervene when an apartment property is delinquent, at risk of default, at risk of disinvestment or in foreclosure. Importantly, the bill does not target any specific level of mortgage distress, property condition or occupancy level, but gives the government latitude as to when it can intervene based on undefined circumstances.

Please take a moment to contact your Representatives and your Senator to make your opposition known to this back-door effort to seize market-rate apartments and convert them to affordable housing.

We also need you inform them that the renter notification provisions in the legislation, which require resident notification any time a property is in default, even if it is a non-monetary default, are ill-advised, unnecessary given existing state laws protect renters in an apartment foreclosure and could actually trigger a foreclosure or create financial stress on a property by discouraging existing residents from renewing their leases and prospective residents from signing a lease.

Additional information on this issue is available here and in this printer-friendly Issue Fact Sheet.

Action Steps

1. Write to Your Elected Officials

You may write your own letter, or simply use the sample letter provided on the right.
A complete list of Congressional e-mail addresses and fax numbers is available at: www.nmhc.org/goto/CongDir.
It is important to let your Congressional representatives know by putting them on company letterhead.

2. Copy NMHC/NAA on Your Letter

Please send a copy of your letter to NMHC/NAA’s Michele Cherry by fax (202/775-0112) or e-mail (mcherry@nmhc.org).

3. Schedule a Meeting During the Upcoming Congressional Recess

We urge you to arrange a meeting with your Representative or Senator during the Memorial Day Recess scheduled from May 25–31 or as soon as possible in their district office to urge them to oppose these two amendments in any final legislation.
We have also developed this Issue Fact Sheet that you can share with your elected official.
We are particularly interested in targeting members of the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate Banking Committee.

If you have questions, please contact Lisa Blackwell, NMHC/NAA’s Vice President of Housing Policy, at 202/974-2365 or lblackwell@nmhc.org.

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