The Washington Report

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) recently announced changes to their 203(k) Rehabilitation Mortgage Insurance Program. NAR previously submitted comments to FHA, seeking updates to the program to ensure they remain consistent with market trends and are more accessible and streamlined for all home buyers. Specifically, FHA is updating the 203(k) loan program by:

• Increasing the maximum cost of the limited 203(k) program to $75,000 from $35,000. FHA also created an annual review process for updating the maximum allowable amount;
• Extending the rehabilitation period for the standard 203(k) to 12 months; and
• Increasing the number of months of financeable mortgage payment reserves.

The 203(k) rehabilitation mortgage insurance loan program provides low to moderate income buyers with the opportunity to purchase homes in a broader range of the market while simultaneously revitalizing housing supply stock. NAR commends FHA for modernizing the 203(k) program as home buyers are struggling with the limited housing inventory, and we look forward to continuing our work with them.

NAR submitted a letter to Senator Tim Kaine thanking him for reintroducing “The Fair and Equal Housing Act of 2024,” which will provide clear and consistent non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people in housing by adding “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as protected characteristics under the Fair Housing Act. 

REALTORS® celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, in which it held that the prohibition on discrimination “because of sex” under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 included discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. NAR also applauded HUD’s quick action to implement the January 20, 2021 Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation.

NAR continues to work to make the American dream available and accessible to all Americans and stands ready to work with Congress to support and promote the Fair and Equal Housing Act of 2024.

Read NAR's letter to Senator Kaine.

Learn more about the Fair and Equal Housing Act of 2024.

NAR submitted comments to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) in response to its request for input on Federal Home Loan Bank Core Mission Activities and Mission Achievement.

NAR's submission reiterates previous letters to the FHFA that stress:

• That the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks) were created and receive subsidies intended to help finance home purchases;
• There should be a minimum requirement for entrance into the system based on support for housing;
• There should be an ongoing requirement to support housing for existing members; and
• There should be an expanded requirement to foster affordable housing.

Read NAR's Comments to the FHFA

On Friday, July 12, 2024, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced new resident-centered practice requirements for multifamily properties financed by the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (the GSEs), after the implementation date of February 28, 2025.  These new requirements will only apply to new loan applications on or after the effective date.  The requirements are:

1. A 30-day notice to residents of a rent increase;
2. A 30-day notice to residents of the lease expiration; and
3. A 5-day grace period to residents for rent payments. 

This is the first regulatory action following last year’s Request for Information (RFI) on tenant protections, which NAR submitted a comment to  and also joined a coalition comment letter in response to.  These comments stressed the importance of allowing housing providers to enforce their lease agreements and to limit unnecessary regulatory burdens on them—especially small, “mom-and-pop” housing providers—at a time when it is more important than ever that housing providers stay in the market.  Between the RFI and today’s announcement NAR and our industry stakeholder partners have remained engaged with the FHFA, GSEs, and the administration on rental housing issues, giving a voice to NAR’s housing provider members in the process.  NAR will continue to present the concerns and challenges faced by housing providers to the FHFA and GSEs as they develop the guidelines, definitions, and compliance mechanisms to enact today’s announcement, as well as any future policies regarding resident-centered practices.   

Read the FHFA Announcement on Multifamily Tenant Protections

Read the FHFA Blog Post 

Read NAR's Comment Letter 

Read the Housing Provider Coalition Comment Letter 

Learn More About Nar’s Advocacy in Support of Rental Housing Providers