Sen. Elizabeth Warren, along with Rep. Jamaal Bowman, have issued a letter from a coalition of more than 30 lawmakers to President Joe Biden praising him for his actions to confront the housing crisis and proposing additional executive actions to lower the cost of housing.
“Under your leadership, the Biden-Harris Administration has taken important steps to protect renters from predatory corporate landlords and to make home purchases and refinancing more affordable,” wrote the lawmakers. “But there is even more that can be done using executive agencies’ existing statutory authority.”
In the letter, the lawmakers recommend the Biden Administration and federal agencies take the following actions:
- Price gouging protections: In order to safeguard tenants from rising rents at the hands of corporate landlord who have been caught price gouging their tenants, FHFA can condition all Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac multifamily loans on a set of price gouging protections, source of income protections, anti-eviction regulations, and habitability and accessibility improvements.
- Tackling junk fees: To address the hidden junk fees that can create thousands of dollars in additional costs for renters and homeowners, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) should finalize its proposed rule to ban junk fees and continue to investigate unfair and deceptive practices by corporate landlords. Additionally, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) should address anticompetitive closing costs and junk fees, lowering closing costs for home mortgages and making homeownership more accessible.
- Lowering credit report costs: The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) should investigate whether FICO is violating antitrust law, and the CFPB should explore potential remedies to exploding credit reporting costs, including a cap on fees that credit reporting agencies can charge and interoperability requirements that would allow consumers to move their credit scores without new fees.
- Promoting housing development on federal property: Federal agencies can work to reform Title V of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance program, so that federal property can more easily be leased by affordable housing providers who are serving people experiencing homelessness.
The Biden Administration has taken bold steps to protect tenants from predatory corporate landlords, including the Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights, rent-hike protections in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit properties, and support for anti-price-gouging measures in properties owned by corporate landlords. The Administration has also worked to increase housing supply, including through grants to incentivize the production of affordable housing and more.
“We strongly encourage you to cement your legacy by addressing one of the most pressing economic issues of our time and take swift action to create more housing and lower housing costs for Americans everywhere,” concluded the lawmakers in the letter.
Led by Sen. Warren and Rep. Bowman, the letter is also signed by Sens. Richard Blumenthal, Cory Booker, Edward J. Markey, Christopher Murphy, Bernard Sanders and Peter Welch, and Reps. Alma Adams, Becca Balint, Cori Bush, André Carson, Greg Casar, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Jesús G. “Chuy” García, Sylvia R. Garcia, Raúl M. Grijalva, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna, Barbara Lee, Summer Lee, James P. McGovern, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Katie Porter, Delia C. Ramirez, Jamie Raskin, Mark Takano, Shri Thanedar, Rashida Tlaib, Nydia Velázquez, Bonnie Watson Coleman, and Nikema Williams.
Trade groups that endorsed the letter include the Tenant Union Federation, National Housing Law Project, National Low Income Housing Coalition, National Homelessness Law Center, and Americans for Financial Reform.
Click here to view the letter in its entirety.
