WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - President Joe Biden has announced a set of new actions to lower housing costs, and to make renting more affordable for millions of Americans.
Biden has called on Congress to pass legislation giving corporate landlords a choice to either cap rent increases on existing units at 5 percent or risk losing current valuable federal tax breaks.
The President called on Congress to pass the Biden-Harris Housing Plan, which would build 2 million homes, and provide $10,000 in mortgage relief to unlock home-ownership for millions of Americans. Already, more units are under construction than at any time in over 50 years, and the rate of new housing starts is up 17 percent compared to the last Administration, the White House said.
Under the Housing plan, corporate landlords, beginning this year and for the next two years, would only be able to take advantage of faster depreciation write-offs available to owners of rental housing if they keep annual rent increases to no more than 5 percent each year. This would apply to landlords with more than 50 units in their portfolio. It would include an exception for new construction and substantial renovation or rehabilitation.
Some corporate landlords have taken advantage of the shortage of available units by raising rents by more than increases in their own costs-resulting in huge profits at a time when millions of Americans are struggling to cover rent each month. And recent analysis showed that the six largest publicly-traded apartment companies reported large profits earlier this year, and many of these same landlords are named in pending litigation for their alleged use of proprietary algorithms to raise rents on tenants.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is announcing new actions to protect renters in multifamily properties financed by loans acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These protections apply to future loans acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who have financed an average of 1.2 million multifamily rental units over the past three years.
The President is calling on all federal agencies to assess surplus federal land that can be repurposed to build more affordable housing across the country. The White House said it will work with federal agencies with land disposition authorities, as well as agencies that provide financing tools for housing and infrastructure. This action is aimed at quickly building more housing that is affordable for working families and climate resilient, which will bring down energy costs, while protecting local lands and waters.
The Bureau of Land Management is opening a public comment period on a sale of 20 acres of public land to Clark County, Nevada, for below market value at just $100 per acre, which is estimated to enable the development of nearly 150 affordable homes for households making less than 80 percent of area median income. BLM will also soon announce the proposed below-market sale of an additional 18 acres to the City of Henderson, which is estimated to provide nearly 300 affordable housing units for rent.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is announcing $325 million in Choice Neighborhoods grants to build 6,500 units of new housing, support small businesses, build childcare centers and new parks.
The recipients of these grants include the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority; the City of Las Vegas; Syracuse, NY; Chattanooga, TN; Huntsville, AL; Miami, FL; Houston, TX; Trenton, NJ; Phoenix, AZ; Shreveport, LA; Cleveland, OH; Baton Rouge, LA; Camden, NJ; Winston-Salem, NC; Lewiston, ME; and Norfolk, VA.
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