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My name is Joede Brown and I am a tenant in Manchester, New Hampshire. I am one of the founders of a land trust that we had to create because no one is reigning in the incessant greed of landlords. Arbitrary rent increases should be done away with. My rent was raised 35% earlier this year. Can you afford a 35% in your mortgage? If not, then why are renters, usually, lower on the socio-economic scale forced to pay more, proportionally, of their income than those who are higher on the scale?

Rents are now the highest they have ever been in 40 years and this is not just due to inflation. There is no state, right now, in which a worker can work full time at the federal minimum wage and afford a two-bedroom apartment.

Limiting the amount of a rental increase is not a handout. Limiting rents to 1.5 times the Consumer Price Index or 3%, whichever is lower, is a way that the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) can protect tenants from rents that are just too high. Properties backed by federally backed mortgages should be the first to implement this strategy.

Reno-evictions are despicable and should not be allowed, unless there is a true renovation taking place. Changing the carpet or painting the walls is not a renovation and landlords should be prohibited from evicting tenants for these cosmetic changes, just to turn around and arbitrarily increase the rent an exorbitant amount. Evictions should only occur if there is a good cause.

The FHFA should step in to:

1. Limit rent hikes;
2. Prohibit evictions without good cause;
3. Ban discrimination against sources of income;
4. Require habitable, clean, safe housing for all, not just those in higher income brackets;
5. Ensure tenants have the right to organize without retribution;
6. And create an Office of Tenant Protections so tenants have a centralized location for information and to enforce the aforementioned rights.

Sincerely,
Joede Brown