Days after the Georgia Senate punted a high-profile tenant protections bill until at least next year, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge said the federal government is doing more for renters.
The failed Georgia bill was introduced in response to “Dangerous Dwellings,” an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation that detailed unsafe and unhealthy conditions at metro Atlanta apartment complexes whose owners flipped them for millions in profit. The series Monday won a national Investigative Reporters and Editors award.
In an exclusive AJC interview during her visit to metro Atlanta, Fudge said federal authorities are often reluctant to withhold subsidies or low-income tax credits from apartment complexes due to a national housing shortage.
“The unfortunate part is that there’s such a lack of housing today, it is difficult to say that we’re going to put people out of the program, so we give people the opportunity to repair, to replace, to clean up, to do what is necessary to keep people housed,” Fudge said. “But we are more and more vigilant about making sure that people are not living in unsafe and unhealthy conditions.”
HUD last week increased the standards and frequency of inspections for housing that the agency supports and insures. The Biden administration earlier this year also laid out a blueprint for a renters bill of rights, parts of which could be enforced by the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The agency is pressuring banks and landlords to dial back what the Biden administration calls “junk fees,” including unreasonable charges for rental applications, bounced checks and late payments. The AJC’s “American Dream for Rent” investigation this year revealed private equity firms that own rental properties are gouging tenants with such fees.
“We’re not saying you can’t charge a fee, but charge a fee that is reasonable and actually covers your costs,” Fudge said. “Don’t make money off of people who need help.”
Fudge visited Gwinnett County with U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta, as part of the “Investing in America” tour touting the Biden administration’s economic agenda. The tour will bring U.S. Small Business Administrator Isabella Guzman to Norcross on Tuesday and Vice President Kamala Harris to northwest Georgia on Thursday.
Fudge toured the Good Samaritan Health Center, a former restaurant in Norcross that was repurposed with a HUD grant during former President Donald Trump’s administration.
The Good Samaritan Health Centers operate two locations in Norcross that provide health and dental services to low-income and uninsured patients. The faith-based organization is considering a third location in Gwinnett.
Fudge urged organization leaders to go after more grants from her department and other federal agencies.
“Congress, in conjunction with the administration, put an awful lot of resources into states and local communities and counties,” she said. “Right now, states and local governments are flush with money. Don’t let it pass you by, because I don’t know that this will ever happen again.”
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