WMFHA GA Staff Attend Assembly of Delegates; Learn of Troubling National Proposals

The NAA Assembly of Delegates was held November 14-17 in Norfolk, Virginia with several WMFHA members and staff in attendance. The Assembly of Delegates (AOD) is composed of up to two hundred and fifty (250) delegates from the NAA’s ten regions.  AOD is NAA’s largest business meeting of the year, where all NAA and NAAEI Boards, Committees and Task Forces meet, and the new incoming volunteer leadership is installed.

Although the focus of the meeting is committee work, organizational rulemaking and budget adoption, it also provides GA staff a unique opportunity to learn about issues occurring in other jurisdictions and at the national level.

During the Legislative Committee we received a federal update which included an overview of the lame duck session, NAA supported bills that may have a chance to move and  some problematic proposals and discussions at the federal level.

Most troubling of the federal updates was an overview of an proposal by tenant advocates. They have proposed the White House adopt an executive order adding tenant protections requirements for any “federally-backed” property along with stricter enforcement of CARES Act noticing requirements and investigation of rental price setting. Especially problematic is that “federally-backed properties” could include any property that has received any federal assistance; federally backed mortgage, vouchers, CARES Act loans or grants, etc. Precedent has already been set when the manufactured homes industry agreed to restrictions, through a different executive order, based on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac backed mortgages.

• JCE protections & 3% rent increase cap (or 1.5 times the rate of inflation), for federally-backed properties.
• Similar limits on LIHTC & pressure on CDBG recipients to explore similar limits.
• Monitoring of owners of federally-backed properties to ensure compliance with CARES 30-day notice req.
• Directing the GSEs to stop purchasing loans from owners with a pattern of violations.
• Directing the FTC to initiate a market investigation into rental price setting per FTC Act powers.

In addition, Chairman Sherrod Brown, Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee has sent a letter to the FTC requesting an investigation of algorithmic price setting. Here are some talking points regarding this issue should you be contacted by press.

We also learned of the numerous attempts nationwide to create new tenant protections, most centered around rent control, even in jurisdictions that have rent control preemptions like Washington.

WMFHA is watching these issues closely and will work with NAA staff to stay informed and take any action necessary to support their efforts.