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The Biden administration on Thursday announced new actions to protect renters, including efforts the White House said could allow tenants greater opportunities to correct outdated or wrong screening reports, provide new funding for tenant organizing across certain properties, and offer better advance notice of evictions.
“We must provide renters with the necessary resources to safeguard their interests and enhance their communication with landlords,” Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge said in a statement Thursday. “HUD is dedicated to collaborating with renters and ensuring they are well informed about their rights.”
Thursday’s slate of renter-friendly actions followed an earlier announcement from the Biden administration this year that it would launch new efforts to collect information and issue guidance surrounding tenant protections. Prior to that move, housing activists had increasingly called for more federal action to bolster tenant power, particularly as annual rent increases hit record levels earlier in the pandemic.
HUD said Thursday that as part of the government’s greater effort to support renters and meet their needs, the agency would alert both public-housing agencies and property owners to best practices when it comes to rejecting potential tenants and informing them of the reasoning, giving “renters greater ability to correct any errors that may occur” in the screening process.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in November that such screenings were often rife with errors that were difficult to fix, making it tremendously hard for some renters to access housing.
From the archives (November 2022): ‘Sloppy, bad, false data’: Tenant-screening reports used by landlords can include outdated or incorrect information, CFPB says
Other agencies, including the Department of Agriculture and CFPB, will also release guidance or best practices to housing operators and landlords, the White House said Thursday.
“This guidance communicates the administration’s expectations on informing renters of what information in their screening report is responsible for their application being denied,” the White House said in a statement.
Additionally, HUD said it would devote $10 million in new funding to tenant education and outreach among properties in the Section 8 project-based rental assistance program, and issue a proposed rule to possibly make public housing and project-based rental assistance landlords and managers offer tenants written notice of an eviction at least 30 days prior to their lease termination for nonpayment of rent.
“This proposed rule would curtail preventable and unnecessary evictions by providing tenants time and information to help address nonpayment violations,” the White House said. “Tenants in public housing and properties with project-based rental assistance are already entitled to receive a 30-day notice in cases of non-payment of rent. However, if finalized, the proposed rule would permanently memorialize this requirement in HUD’s regulations, allowing the agency additional latitude to effectively communicate and implement these protections.”
The White House also highlighted the work of private entities and local governments in advancing tenants’ rights. Zillow
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next year, for example, will “offer a one-stop-shop for renters to find affordable rentals,” including those that potentially meet the requirements for Housing Choice Vouchers and income-restricted housing programs, the government said.
From the archives (January 2023): For the first time in decades, the average renter spends 30% of their income on housing. The White House has unveiled a plan to help.
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