December 17th, 2008 by Reed Allmand 
Some members of Congress are urging the Federal Housing Financing Agency (FHFA) to quickly implement reforms made to protect renters’ rights during a foreclosure. As part of the $700 billion Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, which was passed in October, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (and other government entities) are required to allow renters living in foreclosed properties to remain in their homes until their leases end as long as they continue to pay their rent. But according to housing activists, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have not been adhering to this rule regarding foreclosures and renters, and are evicting renters in violation of the new policy. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae deny this accusation.
This bailout was designed to help all those people affected by the crisis, including renters living in foreclosed properties. The fact that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are allegedly evicting renters in foreclosed properties is a travesty and a slap in the face of taxpayers. Dallas-Fort Worth needs to make sure that renters living in foreclosed properties owned by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae are allowed to remain in these foreclosed properties according to the law. There needs to be stiff penalties for illegally evicting renters living in foreclosed properties and systems in place that give renters the power to fight evictions caused by foreclosure.
About Reed Allmand
Allmand's vision is rooted in his own financially precarious childhood in Abilene "My father always had difficulty holding a job and supporting our family, so after my parents divorced when I was 12, my sister and I got jobs to help make ends meet," he recalls. "I remember what it felt like as a child to worry that our car would be repossessed or home foreclosed on."
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