… The Federal Housing Finance Agency, or FHFA, manages both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which play a big role in the multifamily housing market by buying the mortgages issued by banks to multifamily landlords, thus assuming the risk of nonpayment. The Newberry Parc arrangement is quite common. Last year, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchased a combined $142 billion in multifamily housing loans.

The problem, LTU members and a nationwide network of tenant organizations say, is that tax dollars provide these huge benefits to landlords without requiring them to protect the rights of tenants. LTU is a member of the People’s Action Center’s Homes Guarantee campaign, which says that the Biden administration should require these federally-backed landlords to limit their rent hikes, keep the housing in good condition and agree not to evict or not renew tenant leases except for good cause. Greater tenant protection in federally-backed housing would have a huge impact: It could apply to over 12 million rental units, nearly one in three renting households in the country. …