Lawmakers Are Taking Steps to Enforce Tenants' Rights. Here Are 5 Areas They're Targeting

Tenants deserve protection. Here's what lawmakers are doing about that.

There's a reason people are often encouraged to purchase a home rather than rent one. When you own a home, you can't be kicked out of it unless you stop paying your mortgage or property taxes. When you rent a home, you never know when your landlord might choose to not renew your lease, leaving you scrambling to find housing.

But not having a lease renewed is a fairly minor problem in the grand scheme of tenant issues that have the potential to arise. That's why lawmakers recently released the White House Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights. Here are some key points it aims to address.

1. Access to safe, affordable housing

People who spend more than 30% of their income on housing risk financial difficulties. For homeowners, that 30% should encompass not just mortgage payments, but also, the cost of property taxes and homeowners insurance.

Tenants, meanwhile, should aim to keep their rent payments to 30% of their income or less. But as of 2019, almost 25% of tenants were spending at least half of their income on rent. And since then, rental affordability has worsened. As such, lawmakers are working to help those in need of housing gain access to units that are not only safe, but affordable.

2. Clear and fair leases

It's common for landlords and property managers to use attorneys to help draft their lease documents. It's less common for tenants to hire an attorney to help them review a lease before signing it.

As such, lawmakers are trying to take steps to ensure that leases are fair to tenants and don't put them at a disadvantage. Leases should be clear, transparent, and written in languages those on the signing end understand.

3. Tenant education and enforcement of rights

Discrimination has long been a problem in the world of housing, and lawmakers want that to end. That's why they're focusing on tenant education and making sure those who rent homes, or seek out rentals, are well-aware of their rights and understand how to identify discriminatory practices among landlords and property management teams.

4. The right to organize

If a group of tenants is being treated unfairly, those tenants should have the freedom to organize without harassment or threats from their landlords. And they certainly should not have to risk losing their homes for speaking up against things like delays in major repairs. Lawmakers are working to enforce tenants' right to organize.

5. Eviction prevention

Prior to the pandemic, tenants faced roughly 900,000 evictions every year. Lawmakers want to take steps to protect tenants from losing their homes due to eviction. To this end, they plan to reinforce rules requiring landlords to give at least 30 days' notice prior to an eviction. The U.S. Housing Department is also awarding $20 million to the Eviction Protection Grant Program in 2023, which will fund nonprofits and government groups that provide legal assistance to tenants facing or at risk of eviction.

People who rent their homes rather than own deserve to have their rights upheld. And so it's a good thing that lawmakers have outlined an in-depth proposal designed to achieve this very goal.