Bill Pulte Rescinds Renter Rights Tied to Freddie, Fannie

Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte continued making sweeping changes, this time rescinding a Biden-era agency directive for tenant rights.

The FHFA issued an order that reversed a policy holding certain requirements for multifamily housing owners with mortgages backed by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, Bisnow reported. The policy was initially expected to go into effect late last month.

Multifamily owners with such mortgages would’ve been required to give renters 30 days’ notice of a rent increase or lease term expiration, as well as a five-day grace period for late rent payments.

Pulte’s order stated that the tenant protections would “increase compliance burdens for lenders and property owners.” It also pointed to a patchwork of state and local regulations that have some of the same requirements, making federal policy unnecessary.

Industry groups such as the National Apartment Association and National Multifamily Housing Council opposed the Biden-era policy. At the time it was issued, the Biden administration said the bill of rights would “increase fairness” in the rental market and create a precedent for the public and private multifamily sector to follow.

Fannie and Freddie have been at the center of a whirlwind of activity since Pulte was confirmed to lead the FHFA less than two weeks ago.

In his first week, Pulte removed more than a dozen board members at the two enterprises and installed himself as the chair of both boards. He placed hundreds of Freddie employees on indefinite administrative leave and fired chief executive officer Diana Reid.

Donald Trump’s administration is also laying the groundwork for the potential privatization of Fannie and Freddie, oft-considered since the day they were folded into federal control more than 15 years ago.

One proposal would involve the transfer of the Treasury Department’s ownership of the mortgage companies to a United States sovereign wealth fund.

— Holden Walter-Warner