Housing

The news media keeps citing industry PR flacks, not tenants, as experts on the housing crisis.

The grassroots Homes Guarantee campaign has an executive branch playbook to protect tenants, but will the Biden administration acquiesce?

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is lacking vital staff during a crisis of housing affordability.

Two top Biden housing nominees have been confirmed after months of delays, but five more HUD vacancies still remain unfilled.

Even without Congress, advocates say there’s a lot that HUD can do to protect tenants and promote affordable housing.

If confirmed to lead the FHFA, Thompson would have enormous power to tackle the affordable housing crisis and address racial equity in housing.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is an independent federal agency established by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) following the 2008-2010 subprime mortgage crisis. Upon its creation, the FHFA replaced the Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB), the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), and the GSE mission office at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The FHFA is responsible for ensuring regulated entities “fulfill their mission by operating in a safe and sound manner to serve as a reliable source of liquidity and funding for the housing finance market throughout the economic cycle.” The agency oversees the supervision, regulation, and housing mission oversight of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) and the Federal Home Loan Bank System, which includes the 11 Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks) and the Office of Finance. 

As the pandemic exacerbates the nation’s ongoing housing crisis, President Biden has promised swift and immediate action. Effectively deploying the federal government’s powers to address this crisis, however, will require more than just good policy and motivated leadership. Past administrations eroded the federal government’s capacity to carry out effective policy to help tenants and homeowners. This administration will need to form new infrastructure, with an outsized focus on staffing reforms, in order to both restore capacity and implement new housing policies that will enable Americans to readily access safe and affordable housing. 

Through its oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the FHFA is closely involved in regulating financing for multifamily housing across the country.

Many executive branch departments and agencies — including FEMA, USDA, and the VA — administer lesser-known federal housing programs.

Yi is the latest BigLaw revolver and corporate ally to join the Biden Administration.

Despite pledging to address the homelessness crisis, the president has not prioritized staffing HUD with housing policy personnel.