In an October 16 letter, 33 Senators and Representatives, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Representative Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), urged President Biden, in the last months of his Administration, to use his executive branch powers to address the nation’s shortage of affordable housing.

The letter praises actions heretofore taken by the Administration to preserve and expand the supply of affordable housing but highlights four areas for executive branch action now.

First, the letter says, the Federal Housing Finance Authority “has the authority to condition all Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac multifamily loans on a set of price gouging protections, source of income protections, anti-eviction regulations, and habitability and accessibility improvements.”

Citing fees that add to renters’ and homeowners’ costs, the letter also urges the Biden Administration to exercise the power of the Federal Trade Commission to “finalize its proposed rule to ban junk fees and continue to investigate unfair and deceptive practices by corporate landlords.”

Another housing hurdle, the cost of securing credit reports for rental and mortgage applications, should also be tackled, the letter says. The letter urges the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to “address anti-competitive behavior in the credit scoring market that jacks up prices for consumers” as the Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) has a “near monopoly” on credit report, the letter says.

Finally, the letter calls on the Administration to unleash the full power of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance program to direct surplus properties to affordable housing providers serving people experiencing homelessness and notes that only 11 surplus federal properties were transferred through this authority between 2016 and 2023.

While not applying specifically to federally-subsidized housing (and some of them already apply to federally-subsidized housing), these proposals would generally help stabilize or expand affordable opportunities for older adults.

Read the letter here.