White House announces plans to stabilize rental costs, build affordable housing

July 16 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden on Tuesday urged Congress and federal agencies to take steps to help reduce housing costs.

Biden called on Congress to pass legislation that would cap rent increases of existing units at 5% and for federal agencies to sustainably repurpose public land and rehabilitate distressed housing.

"Families deserve housing that's affordable -- it's part of the American Dream," Biden said in a statement . "Rent is too high and buying a home is out of reach for too many working families and young Americans, after decades of failure to build enough homes. I'm determined to turn that around."

The legislation Biden proposed would require landlords to keep annual rent increases to no more than 5% or lose access to faster deprecation write-offs beginning this year and extending through 2026.

The administration said the Federal Housing Finance Agency will also announce new actions to protect families renting residence financed by federal Fannie May and Freddie Mac loans. Those include requiring a 30-day notice before rent increases, 30-day notice for lease expirations, and providing a five-day grace period before imposing late fees on rental payments.

Biden also called on federal agencies to assess surplus federal land with the aim of repurposing it to build more affordable housing, pledging to work with agencies, land disposition authorities and agencies providing tools for needed infrastructure to quickly provide new housing.

As part of this effort, the Bureau of Land Management opened public comment on a sale of 20 acres of public land to Clark County Nevada at $100 per acre -- below market value -- to build about 150 homes for households that earn less than 80% of the median income in the area.

It is also considering the sale of an additional 562.5 acres of public land in the Las Vegas Valley designated as appropriate for affordable housing that would support construction of up to 15,000 more affordable rental and owned units in the state.