AFR released housing policy recommendations to promote equitable housing access for all people in the United States, minimize pervasive harm from the COVID-19 pandemic, hold predatory actors accountable, and expand sustainable opportunities in communities of color.
Billionaire corporate landlords have increased their wealth by $24 billion and have raised over $245 billion as millions of American families face a wave of evictions.
New report showing how a handful of billionaire corporate landlords increased their wealth by $24 billion during the pandemic and have raised over $245 billion to tighten their grip on the housing sector. Meanwhile millions of families are under imminent threat of eviction.
AFR organized a letter of support for two bills expanding and improving language access for mortgage transactions that will make important strides in improving access to the mortgage market and awareness of the availability of assistance for homeowners who are struggling to keep up with their mortgage payments. LEP borrowers face many challenges that impede their full participation in the consumer marketplace, including, specifically, their ability to obtain and preserve ownership of a home. Tracking and transferring the language preference of LEP borrowers and enhancing the availability and use of services and resources in their preferred languages will significantly improve market access for LEP borrowers at all stages of a mortgage loan.
AFREF joined a letter urging the CFPB and the FTC to take immediate action to prevent or limit imminent rental evictions and home foreclosures in the private mortgage market.
Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund (AFREF) and 20 consumer, civil rights, small business, and other public interest partners submitted a comment letter to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (FRB) on its Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to modernize the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).
AFR joined a letter urging Congress to expand assistance to homeowners in the upcoming COVID-19 relief package. The letter, which followed a previous letter to the Biden Administration urging for similar protections, requested that the upcoming COVID relief package include $25 billion for direct assistance to homeowners, with the bulk of the funds deployed through state housing finance agencies through the Homeowner Assistance Fund and including at least $100 million for housing counseling and $39.7 million for the Fair Housing Initiatives Program.
“Facing the most economic distress and illness, low-income families and communities of color are most at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure without relief. The Homeowner Assistance Fund is a necessary measure to stem the impending foreclosure crisis and prevent devastating losses for families and neighborhoods.”
AFR joined a letter expressing strong support for the nomination of Rep. Marcia Fudge as the next Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The letter cited Rep. Fudge’s stand-out qualifications, her long track record of working across party lines and with a wide range of stakeholders, and her demonstrated lifelong commitment to advancing the civil rights of all people. It urged the Senate to support her prompt confirmation.
Americans for Financial Reform joined a letter to the Biden administration highlighting the critical budget-related items that would help consumers in any upcoming Covid legislation. The letter urged President Biden to halt garnishment and offset certain tax refunds, fund a Housing Assistance Fund and housing counseling, and cancel student debt.