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Promoting Rental Fairness

Current federal housing policy prohibits renters in apartment buildings financed by Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) – Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac – from occasionally hosting their units as short-term rentals, even when subject to a building’s hosting rules like night caps and quiet hours, unless the building owner specifically requests an exemption. Renters in apartment buildings backed by non-GSE lenders do not face this same restriction.

Updating this policy would give all renters who live in GSE-backed buildings – which represent roughly 40 percent of the multifamily market (source: Federal Reserve Board, March 2022.), including many that house lower and middle-income renters – the same rights as higher-income renters who live in luxury, non-GSE-financed buildings.

Couple of people on a couch

We are asking Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to remove these default restrictions and allow all renters who are willing to comply with strict guardrails to participate in and benefit from short-term rental programs.

Brick building with fire escape

Expanding the ability of individuals in GSE-financed buildings to occasionally rent out their units through programs like Airbnb-friendly apartments would:

  • Create a more fair and equitable housing landscape for low and middle-income renters, putting them on a more level playing field with higher-income renters who already have access to this program.
  • Help individuals in these buildings earn extra money that could be used to help manage the soaring costs of living or save toward buying a home.
  • Expand access to the benefits offered by Airbnb-friendly apartments to more renters without impacting the residential integrity and community feel of their buildings or surrounding neighborhoods.
  • Increase transparency and make it easier for owners, managers and landlords of these buildings to control STR activity to the benefit of them and their community residents.
  • Address the strong demand for residential flexibility, as well as the demand for updating existing policies to allow STR activities across a larger universe of buildings and renters.

Frequently Asked Questions

Current federal housing policy prohibits renters in apartment buildings financed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (which represent more than 40 percent of the multifamily market, source: Federal Reserve Board, March 2022.) from occasionally hosting their units as short-term rentals. This means Renter A living in an apartment building financed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac is not granted the same short-term rental rights as Renter B, whose building across the street is not financed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

At the same time, half of renters in the U.S. spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs, making them much more cost-burdened than homeowners. With the typical host in an Airbnb-friendly apartment earning $4,000 per year hosting an average of 32 nights through the program (according to internal Airbnb data between December 1, 2022 and December 31, 2023. Typical is defined as median), allowing full-time renters in GSE-backed buildings to share their space once in a while can help them earn extra money and better manage ever-rising housing costs.

Major rental property owners and operators have embraced programs like Airbnb-friendly apartments because they ensure STR activity by full-time residents only happens with their approval and cooperation and in compliance with strict conditions like night caps and occupancy limits. Removing restrictive loan terms for GSE-backed properties would give building owners – many of whom already participate in AFA in some capacity – the ability to manage STR activity in a responsible and transparent way across more buildings in their portfolio.

The Renters Opportunity Initiative is a diverse group of housing stakeholders asking Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to remove these default restrictions and allow all renters who are willing to comply with strict guardrails to participate in and benefit from short-term rental programs. To get involved, please email info@rentersopportunity.org.

"Everybody should have the ability to host, or share their home part time, to make some extra income."

- Jesse Stein, Airbnb's Global Head of Real Estate