Landlords looking to evict tenants who are behind on their rent will need to give them a month to move out if their property is backed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae mortgages, according to new rules implemented by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on July 28.
The breakdown:
– The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) eviction moratorium expires on July 31, 2021.
– The FHFA’s 30-day requirement applies to all Fannie and Freddie multifamily properties, regardless of whether the loan is in forbearance.
– Tenants can learn more about Emergency Rental Assistance programs by visiting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s online Rental Assistance Finder.
What this means:
With the CDC’s ban on evictions nearing its end, the writing has been on the wall that an uptick in evictions is likely to occur with roughly 1.2 million households indicating that they are at risk in the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey.
The latest announcement from the FHFA follows suit with other federal initiatives focused on protecting tenants, including the recent moratorium extension and the Cares Act safeguards for tenants living in multifamily properties in forbearance.
“Many families across the country, particularly renters, are still struggling financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important to clearly communicate available protections to both landlords and tenants,” said Acting Director Sandra L. Thompson. “FHFA wants to ensure tenants in enterprise-backed multifamily properties know their right to receive at least 30-days of notice before they are required to vacate their rental unit.”
Jordan Grice is RISMedia’s associate online editor. Email him your real estate news ideas to jgrice@rismedia.com.
