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The 118th Congress is finally under way, following a raucous process of selecting the Speaker of the House and a somewhat tortured process for making committee and leadership assignments. Hearings are now being scheduled and we are starting to see the agendas for various committee chairs play out. The Senate Banking Committee will hold the first hearing on housing of either the House or the Senate on February 9th. At the time of this column’s publication, we do not know who the witnesses will be, though the word is that Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-SC) were collaborating on the witnesses. If accurate, that would be a significant departure from the past practices of the Committee, and a positive start to the new Congress.
Meanwhile, after months of meetings and gathering input from advocates and industry, the White House released its much-anticipated program on “resident-centered property management practices.” As expected, the administration announced a Resident-Centered Housing Challenge, a call to action for housing providers and other stakeholders across the industry. NAA and several other groups made a commitment as part of the challenge to share information across the industry on resident programs and services.
What was not expected was the “Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights,” unveiled by the administration which lays out five principles that President Biden would like to see guide future policymaking at all levels of government:
- 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.
While these principles are nonbinding and do not constitute federal governmental policy, the Biden Administration suggests that these principles will guide changes to federal housing policy moving forward. The White House also called on state and local governments to strengthen renter protections to align with these principles.
The Blueprint also proposes more than 20 federal agency actions intended to increase fairness in the rental market and further principles of fair housing. Topical areas of these agency actions include eviction, fair housing, inspections/housing quality, landlord/tenant law, multifamily financing, rent control, rent setting, resident screening and consumer reporting.
The White House had been very upfront with the industry from the first discussion six months ago that they were looking at some new rules to increase tenant protections. The scale and scope of the Blueprint is definitely a surprise and likely represents the most comprehensive effort at changing housing policy by any administration in history. Those who have been following our advocacy with the White House know that NAA consistently emphasized the industry’s strong opposition to expanded federal involvement in the landlord/tenant relationship. Rental markets vary widely across the country, which is why local solutions tailored to individual markets is most appropriate. Much like our concerns about the CARES Act notice to vacate requirement, practical implementation challenges and unintended consequences would result from expanding federal landlord and tenant requirements onto housing providers in the private market.
As it happens, NAA is entering the first full year of implementation of the Advocacy Task Force Plan. Included in the 2023 investments are significant resources for regulatory advocacy and public affairs, both of which will be crucial as NAA engages with the administration on the Blueprint. More importantly, when the time comes, we will need the full participation of every NAA member to ensure the industry’s voice is heard.
Finally, don’t forget that March 28 – 29, 2023 is NAA’s Advocate conference in Washington, D.C. Our priorities for this year are being announced very soon. I hope all of you can join us and show the power of the rental housing industry in front of federal policymakers.
Stay safe.
- Greg