On January 25, 2023, the White House unveiled a two-part plan to “protect renters and promote rental affordability.”
Part one involves federal actions to pursue a “Renters Bill of Rights.” As part of this effort, the Administration has called on several Federal agencies to carry out specific actions that support five key principles outlined in the plan:
- Safe, Quality, Accessible and Affordable Housing;
- Clear and Fair Leases;
- Education, Enforcement, and Enhancement of Renter Rights;
- The Right to Organize; and
- Eviction Prevention, Diversion, and Relief.
NMHC worked with the White House in good faith for several months leading up to this announcement. Through those efforts, we mitigated the worst policy outcomes, including calls for an Executive Order on national rent control, federalized leases and more.
Part two calls for an industry challenge to advance what the Administration calls “resident-centered” management practices. NMHC was pleased to sign on because, as we have said repeatedly to the administration, our industry is—by definition—resident-centered. There is no apartment industry without our residents.
While the timing for completion of the challenge is slated for late June, wheels are already in motion for carrying out NMHC’s response:
- NMHC has created a task force of industry leaders who are working now to identify a set of common business standards NMHC members could adopt.
- NMHC is already working on populating the new resource hub that will include information for residents needing financial assistance and helping residents build credit.
Use the drop-down features below to read the latest updates on individual actions to come out of these initiatives. Please note actions are ongoing—NMHC will post additional actions and updates to this page on a continuous basis.
- Information that highlights residents’ experiences and stakeholders’ perspectives; and
- Ideas for improved data collection to better quantify the size and scope of the issues identified by residents.
On May 30, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued a Request for Input (RFI) on multifamily resident protections. Importantly, the scope of this RFI is limited to practices within properties that have mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises). Specifically, FHFA seeks comments that include:
The deadline for comment submission is July 31, 2023. NMHC plans to submit comments reflecting the industry’s viewpoint.
The FTC and CFPB have released an RFI seeking public input on issues such as use of criminal screening and eviction records, and algorithms in tenant screening process.
Thanks to our dedicated membership, we were able to successfully respond to this RFI en masse, providing nearly 100 housing provider accounts to the agencies. In addition, NMHC and NAA submitted comments urging the agencies to recognize the value of screening and to avoid measures that unreasonably disrupt necessary operational and property management practices. We argued that the federal government should ensure continued access to the screening tools and accurate consumer data necessary to make informed business decisions and focus its efforts and funding priorities on ensuring the enforcement of consumer protection laws on perpetrators of identity theft, fraud, and other unlawful behavior.
Check out NMHC’s resident screening topic update webpage to dive deeper.
HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge published an open letter to the housing industry calling for action on application fees and process and recurring fees. Notably, the letter is not a mandate or rule, but rather a call for best practices, research and tools.
Check out NMHC’s fee regulation topic update webpage to dive deeper.
