Today, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA,) and Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) introduced H.R. 10465, the Know Who Owns Your Home Act, legislation to empower renters, landlords and local governments with critical information and data on the conditions and ownership of rental properties.

Despite more than 35% of U.S. households being renters, there is no comprehensive, regularly updated dataset on the conditions or ownership of rental properties. Specifically, the bill would authorize the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to:

• Survey the feasibility and cost of establishing a national residential rental registry, including assessing what data will be included in a public registry; and
  
  
• Consider any privacy concerns presented by types of rental registry data, accessibility of the registry for people with disabilities and those with limited English proficiency, as well as education and outreach methods to engage landlords.
  

“Today, the United States has more renters than ever in recent history. In my district in Los Angeles County, over half of all households are renters. As affordable housing supply remains out of reach and rental prices continue to rise, now is the time to ensure there is market transparency and accountability to help renters thrive across urban, suburban, and rural America,” said Ranking Member Waters. “Just as homeowners can contact their servicers and lenders when they face issues with their mortgage, the ‘Know Who Owns Your Home Act’ will direct HUD to explore the cost and feasibility of establishing a national rental registry. Like some communities that already have similar registries, this national effort will be a value add for renters, landlords, and local governments alike. I am proud to partner with Congresswoman Blunt Rochester on this important bill to empower and protect our nation’s renters.”

“It is no secret that for too many Americans, it is increasingly difficult to determine who owns their rental homes, making it harder for renters to request maintenance updates, repairs, and other urgent needs,” said Rep. Blunt Rochester. “The Know Who Owns Your Home Act will streamline communication and increase transparency between renters and landlords by studying the viability of a national rental registry. As a former constituent caseworker, I know how important it is to meet people where they are and empower them with information about the resources available to them. That is exactly what this bill does. I am grateful to Ranking Member Waters for her partnership, and I look forward to working with our colleagues to get this legislation to the House Floor for a vote.”

“The Know Who Owns Your Home Act will be another way to enhance fair and safe rental practices,” said DSHA Director Cynthia Karnai. “Renters should know what is expected of them and how much they will pay. This bill provides another layer of protection and security that Delaware renters deserve, and the Delaware State Housing Authority is happy to lend our endorsement.”

"We are supportive of this effort to bring more transparency to the rental market. Knowing, at the community level, what rentals are available and who owns them will go a long way towards ensuring a safe and healthy rental market for families," said Rachel Stucker, Executive Director at Housing Alliance Delaware.

“Data is the backbone of good planning and effective policy. Providing comprehensive information on the housing market will drive local decisions that bring us closer to housing solutions. The Know Who Owns Your Home Act will shed new and important light on local housing that will, in turn, drive housing plans. The American Planning Association applauds the leadership of Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester and Ranking Member Maxine Waters on this critical issue,” said Angela Brooks, FAICP, President of the American Planning Association.

“Tenants have a right to know who owns their home. Congresswoman Blunt Rochester and Congresswoman Waters’ Know Who Owns Your Home Act would give tenants the transparency they deserve in the rental market. A federal rental registry would provide critical data to tenants and advocates to fight extreme rent hikes by corporate owners, hold owners accountable to repair properties with unlivable conditions, and give tenants an opportunity to make direct complaints or request accommodations from the ultimate owner of their units. The Know Who Owns Your Home Act will give tenants more security and ultimately power,” said Shamus Roller, Executive Director of the National Housing Law Project.

“Renters make up more than a third of all U.S. households, yet there is little to no data on who owns the nation's rental properties. This lack of information has promoted a housing market with minimal oversight in which property owners have outsized power over tenants, ultimately stifling the effectiveness of programs created to protect residents from predatory actors and housing insecurity,” said Rasheedah Phillips, Director of Housing at PolicyLink. “Cities across the country have proven that rental registries add much-needed transparency to our housing market in the face of a growing affordability crisis. A federal registry will be an indispensable tool for holding landlords accountable and helping renters stay safe and stable in their homes, and we thank the Congressmembers for their leadership.”

“There is an enormous power imbalance between landlords and renters, which tilts heavily in favor of landlords at renters’ expense. This power imbalance is exacerbated when landlords hide behind complicated ownership structures and when renters cannot access basic information about the homes they live in,” stated Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. “The Know Who Owns Your Home Act will ensure greater transparency and allow renters and policymakers to hold landlords accountable. I thank Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester and Chairwoman Maxine Waters for their work on this bill and urge Congress to bring this legislation to a Floor vote, along with other critical renter protections included in the National Tenants Bill of Rights.”

“Too often, families experiencing unhealthy or hazardous conditions in their rental housing are left in the dark about who owns their home and who to contact when life saving repairs or remediation is needed. Knowing who owns rental properties is vital to ensuring that renters can address unhealthy housing conditions and hold bad landlords accountable when they fail to take responsibility. Federal action to create a national rental registry is a positive step toward improving community health,” said Will Dominie, Housing Justice Program Director at Human Impact Partners.

The Know Who Owns Your Home Act is endorsed by: National Housing Law Project, PolicyLink, American Planning Association, Americans for Financial Reform, American Public Health Association, Center for Popular Democracy, Delaware State Housing Authority, Housing Alliance Delaware, Human Impact Partners, Lawyers’ Committee, Liberation in a Generation, Local Progress, Manufactured Housing Action, National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients), National Low Income Housing Coalition, National Fair Housing Alliance, People's Action's Homes Guarantee Campaign, PowerSwitch Action, and Latino Health Access.

Full text of the bill can be found here.

A one-pager on the bill can be found here.

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