The White House’s White Paper on the Renters Bill of Rights has generated a lot of conversation across the multifamily and rental housing industry. It lays out actions and initiatives meant to increase fairness in the rental market and further the principles of fair housing. What it does not do, at least yet, is spell out new requirements for operators. This analysis covers what the blueprint says, how the industry has responded, and how to prepare while the immediate impacts stay unclear.
The Renters Bill of Rights is a White Paper the White House released in January 2023 to protect renters and promote rental affordability. It describes a set of actions and initiatives from the Biden-Harris Administration. Its stated aims are to increase fairness in the rental market and to further the principles of fair housing.
The word “actions” deserves attention. The paper does not provide specifics about what new requirements, if any, will be expected of the multifamily industry right away. A white paper of this kind sets direction for federal agencies. It does not, on its own, change the rules an operator must follow.
Binding requirements reach operators through a different path. An agency proposes a rule, takes public comment, and issues a final version with an effective date. The blueprint points several agencies down that path. Until they act, the industry will need to look out for new regulations to learn what the White Paper’s potential impacts actually are.
The paper groups its actions into four areas that touch day-to-day multifamily operations. Each names a federal agency and a direction of travel. None yet names a specific obligation.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will collect information to identify practices that unfairly prevent applicants and tenants from accessing or staying in housing. Multifamily operators will need to be prepared to provide data and information to these agencies as part of that process.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that it will launch a new public process to examine proposed actions promoting renter protections and limits on egregious rent increases for future investments. Operators will need to watch for any new regulations or guidelines on rent increases and adjust their pricing accordingly.
The CFPB will coordinate with the FTC to promote enforcement of accurate reporting by credit reporting systems and to hold background check companies accountable for unreasonable procedures. The paper also encourages resident credit programming, such as helping tenants build and improve credit by reporting positive rent payments to credit bureaus.
The White Paper emphasizes the importance of eviction prevention, diversion, and relief. Operators will need to be aware of any new regulations or guidelines on evictions and make sure that they are followed.
Taken together, multifamily operators may expect to see changes to fair housing laws, data collection and analysis, rent increases, and eviction prevention and relief. The order in which those changes arrive, and the form they take, is what remains open.
The three largest industry associations responded quickly, and their positions line up. Each supports resident-focused practices in principle. Each objects to expanded federal involvement in a relationship they see as governed by state and local law.
The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) expressed concern that the new actions announced by the Biden-Harris Administration could “lead to duplicative and onerous regulations that are already being addressed at the state and local level.” The council also argued that these efforts will not “address the nation’s housing shortage and could discourage much-needed investments in housing.”
The National Apartment Association (NAA) emphasized its commitment to promoting industry resident services and practices. It also made clear “the industry’s opposition to expanded federal involvement in the landlord-tenant relationship.” The NAA believes that “complex housing policy is a state and local issue and that the best solutions utilize carrots over sticks.”
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) expressed disagreement with the new protections for renters. Chairman Jerry Konter believes the federal government should ‘focus on strengthening existing programs like the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit’ to increase the supply of affordable housing. In his words, “if the Administration is truly committed to helping America’s renters, it will champion solutions that will enable builders to construct more apartments and homes to reduce the nation’s deficit of 1.5 million housing units.”
The common thread is supply. The associations frame affordability as a shortage problem and read the blueprint as a demand-side response. The question of who should set the rules for rental housing is not new; our look at who governs the digital landlord traces the same tension from the technology side.
The blueprint has no compliance date, but every area it names implies preparation work. The practical response is to be ready to answer questions before an agency asks them. Five moves cover the ground.
All of this is easier when records are consistent across properties. Data readiness also raises questions about handling resident information responsibly, and our privacy and data policies describe how that information is handled on our side.
The White Paper’s themes are fair access, predictable rent increases, credit building, and eviction prevention. Many operators already run practices in each of those areas. Incorporating resident-centered property management practices into the business now means fewer changes later, whatever the final rules say. Our guide to resident retention strategies covers the operational side of that work.
It may be, but as of January 2023 it is too soon to tell. The release of the White Paper could prove a significant development for the multifamily industry, or it could stall at the agency level. The honest answer is that the immediate impacts are unclear.
What operators can control is readiness. They will need to be aware of the immediate impacts and any new regulatory requirements that follow the White Paper. They will need to consider how resident-centered practices fit their business. And they will need to be prepared to communicate changes to tenants and other stakeholders.
The Renters Bill of Rights is a White House White Paper, released in January 2023, that lays out actions and initiatives to increase fairness in the rental market and further the principles of fair housing. It covers data collection by the FTC and CFPB, a FHFA process on rent increases, credit reporting practices, and eviction prevention. It does not itself impose new requirements on multifamily operators.
As of January 2023, the blueprint creates no new obligations for landlords, because it does not specify what new requirements will be expected of the industry right away. It does signal where federal agencies plan to look: rental application and tenancy practices, egregious rent increases, credit and background check reporting, and evictions. Landlords should watch for the regulations that follow and prepare to provide data if asked.
No. The paper announces that the FHFA will launch a public process to examine proposed actions promoting renter protections and limits on egregious rent increases for future investments. That is an examination, not a rule, and it applies to future investments rather than existing loans. Any actual limit would have to come through a later regulation.
NMHC warned of “duplicative and onerous regulations” already addressed at the state and local level and said the actions could discourage investment in housing. NAA restated its opposition to expanded federal involvement in the landlord-tenant relationship and called for carrots over sticks. NAHB argued the federal government should strengthen programs like the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit to address a deficit of 1.5 million housing units.
Consistent, consolidated property data turns a regulatory request into a query rather than a project, and makes resident-centered reporting routine across every property.
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