FHFA Announces Protections for Multifamily Tenants

Washington DC – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced a set of mandatory tenant protections for multifamily properties financed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises). This announcement is the result of extensive and ongoing engagement by FHFA with market participants and key stakeholders on tenant issues and represents the first time that tenant protections will be a standard feature of Enterprise multifamily financing.

Covered housing providers will be required to provide tenants with the following:

• 30 Day Written Notice of Rent Increase
• 30 Day Written Notice of Lease Expiration
• 5-day grace period for rent payment

“The tenant protections announced today are a collaborative effort between FHFA, businesses, tenants, and landlords to address the challenges facing rental housing today,” said Director Sandra L. Thompson. “These requirements reflect basic best practices to ensure that housing providers communicate effectively with tenants and that tenants understand their rights and responsibilities under their leases.”

The Enterprises will monitor and enforce the tenant protections announced today, and failure to comply with these measures could result in penalties under the loan agreement. These protections will be required for new loans signed on or after the policy’s effective date of February 28, 2025. A detailed description of the tenant protection policies is expected to be released by the Enterprises in August 2024. Tenants can see if their property is backed by Enterprise using Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s multifamily property search tools.

In 2023, FHFA issued a Request for Comments (RFI) to gather stakeholder views and identify principles and best practices at the federal, state, and local levels that would strengthen tenant protections and increase fairness in the rental market. FHFA released a summary of comments in January 2024, which is available (here).

FHFA and businesses will continue to evaluate options to codify additional tenant protections that promote sustainable housing in a manner that reflects the needs of tenants and housing providers.

FHFA Tenant Notifications Blog

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The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) regulates Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the 11 Federal Home Loan Banks. These government-sponsored enterprises provide more than $8.4 trillion in financing to U.S. mortgage markets and financial institutions. Additional information is available at www.FHFA.gov, on Twitter @FHFAYouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Contacts: MediaInqu​[email protected]