Neera Tanden Remarks to Press on Housing Announcements

As Prepared For Delivery:

Thank you, everyone, for joining today’s call.

Our country has a housing supply and housing affordability problem.

Housing is one of the biggest monthly expenses for Americans—whether they’re renters or homeowners.

A more affordable, equitable housing market would help fulfill the President’s vision for an economy that grows from the middle out and the bottom up.

Under Bidenomics, we are committed to increasing housing supply and reducing costs, while advancing renter protections to ensure we are giving everyone a fair shot.

Today, we are taking new actions to do that:

First, we are reducing barriers to build housing, such as restrictive and costly land use and zoning rules.

New resources that we are announcing today reflect a comprehensive federal approach to breaking down these costly supply barriers.

The new Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing program supports communities that are actively taking steps to remove barriers to affordable housing, such as:

Barriers caused by outdated zoning, land use policies, or regulations;

Deteriorating infrastructure;

Lack of neighborhood amenities; and more.

Second, we are expanding financing to create and repair affordable housing.

We are unlocking new resources through the President’s historic investments through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act—while maximizing all of our existing tools and making them work better.

We are making generational investments in communities. And we are doing everything we can to ensure that they are advancing our goals on housing supply.

Third, we are promoting conversions of commercial properties to residential homes.

With high rates of commercial vacancies across the country, we see a tremendous opportunity for conversions to residential housing.

Relatedly, we are proud to announce new, concrete actions to protect renters, such as:

Ensuring all renters have an opportunity to address incorrect tenant screening reports;

Providing new funding to support tenant organizing efforts; and

Ensuring that renters are given fair notice in advance of eviction.

My colleagues will dive into the specifics of these announcements.

These actions deliver on a vision of a housing market that works for all Americans. And they build on the Biden-Harris Administration’s remarkable track record to date:

A year ago, President Biden launched the housing supply action plan—a first-of-its-kind plan to close our housing supply gap.

Six months ago, he paved a new path for advancing renters’ rights by developing the White House Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights.

We’ve made great progress on these two efforts.

Last fall we announced progress on multiple actions in our supply plan. For example, we reformed the income guidelines for Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, the main source of federal financing used to fund affordable housing. This will make it easier to build mixed-income housing that includes very low-income tenants, as well as housing in rural areas.

Just last week, the President announced a new front in the war on junk fees: fees in the rental housing market.

We also need public and private sector at the table here. That’s why we launched our resident-centered housing challenge. We’re encouraging the private sector, including online platforms, and state and local governments to expand resources, information, and rights that are essential to a fair rental market.

Furthermore, the President’s budget proposed historic housing investments that would bolster our efforts. We hope that Congress will join us in these efforts to ensure all Americans can afford safe and decent housing by passing the President’s budget.

There’s a lot more where that came from—and certainly, more to do here.

Ultimately, we are committed to doing everything in our power to lower housing costs and protect renters.

We are working tirelessly to fulfill the promise of our Housing Supply Action Plan and Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights.

And we won’t rest until we finish the job.

With that, I will turn it over to Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Deputy Secretary Todman, thank you for your important leadership in our efforts to expand housing and increase affordability, while protecting tenants and homeowners.