Following the White House’s release of a Renter’s Bill of Rights Blueprint, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, released the following statement:
“I applaud the Biden Administration’s historic release of its blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights. As housing prices have skyrocketed by nearly 20% during the pandemic, many U.S. renters are now paying 30% or more of their income on rent since at least 2003. While the cost of rent has been a key driver of inflation, and as Wall Street gobbles up a greater share of houses to become corporate landlords, now is as critical a time as ever to protect and strengthen the rights of renters, who comprise more than one in three Americans nationwide.
“At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, I led House Democrats’ efforts to secure $46.6 billion in emergency rental assistance and a federal eviction moratorium, which the Biden Administration extended into July 2021. Federal protections for renters influenced local eviction moratoria across the country, including in my district in Los Angeles County. These federal protections also informed critical eviction prevention efforts within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in 2021. Moreover, these funds enabled countless cities and counties across the country to stand up emergency rental assistance programs to keep families stably housed. I am immensely proud of Committee Democrats’ role in these targeted efforts to protect families and offset a mass wave of evictions, homelessness, and an early-onset recession. The Biden Administration’s blueprint and historic federal actions will help strengthen renters’ rights and protections.
“In addition to improving access to safe, quality, and affordable housing, ensuring clear and fair leases, increasing awareness of existing renters’ rights, including the right to organize, and strengthening eviction prevention and relief, I commend the Biden Administration for its engagement of states and local governments to advance best practices in renters’ rights at the state and local levels. As we move to provide greater federal support to our nation’s renters, I urge federal agencies to build off of the major strides that Congressional Democrats secured during the pandemic. I stand ready to continue working alongside the Biden Administration to ensure renters are protected and treated fairly in an evolving rental market.”
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