FHFA Director Bill Pulte Reverses Biden Administration's Renters Bill of Rights
The new head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency continued his path of sweeping change by reversing the Biden administration's renter rights program.
FHFA Director Bill Pulte issued an order Monday afternoon rescinding the agency's directive on multifamily properties financed with mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The policy required multifamily housing providers with those mortgages to provide renters with a 30-day notice of a rent increase or lease term expiration and at least a five-day grace period for late rent payments.
Issued last summer, the policy was part of the Biden administration’s establishment of a renter bill of rights designed to “increase fairness” in the rental market. Originally set to go into effect late last month, it was supposed to drive the public and private sectors to strengthen tenant protections and encourage rental affordability.
The policy was opposed by industry groups like the National Apartment Association and the National Multifamily Housing Council.
The order issued by Pulte states that requiring tenant protections would “increase compliance burdens for lenders and property owners.” It also notes the federal policy wasn’t needed as many states and local governments already have laws and policies on lease notices and grace periods for late fees.
A request for comment on Pulte’s order was not immediately returned by FHFA officials Tuesday morning.
At the end of 2024, the median asking rent in the U.S. dropped 0.3% year over year to $1,594, according to Redfin. That was the country’s lowest median asking rent since March 2022.
Meanwhile, there were more than 1 million evictions over the past year in the 10 states and 36 cities tracked by the Eviction Lab at Princeton University. However, the site found eviction filings in those states and cities dropped from the previous month's total in both January and February of this year.
Rescinding the tenants' rights measures caps a busy 12 days for Pulte, who was confirmed by the Senate to lead the FHFA on March 13.
As part of a shake-up of the board of directors of Fannie and Freddie, Pulte appointed himself as chairman of the board at both firms less than a week after his confirmation. He also made four new appointments to replace eight Fannie board members who exited and added three new members to the Freddie board after ousting four of its members.
Days later, Pulte fired Freddie CEO Diana Reid, and dozens of the agency’s more than 700 employees have been put on indefinite administrative leave.
The Trump administration is considering an executive order that would direct agencies to study the impact of making Fannie and Freddie private. Such a move could raise as much as $30B through a public offering for the agency’s stock, and that money could help seed a U.S. sovereign wealth fund.
