FHFA Report Summarizes Responses to Resident-Centered Practices at Multifamily Properties Backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Today, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released a report summarizing feedback from a May 2023 Request for Input (RFI) seeking information on tenant protections for multifamily properties backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The RFI collected information specifically on tenants’ experiences and stakeholders’ perspectives and asked for ideas to improve data collection to better quantify the size and scope of the issues identified by tenants.

MHI responded to this RFI, joining with a broad coalition of housing associations in a letter to FHFA urging the Agency to exercise caution and “reject imposing rent regulation as a condition of Enterprise-backed financing and instead create additional voluntary incentives within the GSE programs to expand the supply of needed affordable housing.” Noting that rent regulation, “Is not equitable as it does not target low- and moderate-income renters that are most in need of support and stability,” the letter advised FHFA to, “Refrain from implementing policies like rent control on private rental housing providers and instead focus on leveraging federal resources in the form of incentives to bolster new affordable housing.”

Today’s report from FHFA concluded, noting that “significant work will be required to advance resident-centered practices at Enterprise-backed properties, where applicable. These responses will be foundational to FHFA’s future exploration of resident-centered management practices at Enterprise-backed properties. FHFA intends to continue its public stakeholder engagement process in 2024.”