Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, today welcomed Fannie Mae’s decision to allow renters to remain in properties that have been foreclosed on by the mortgage company.  The decision comes just weeks after Dodd urged James Lockhart, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, not to evict tenants who pay their rent on time but are living in foreclosed properties.  Dodd sent a letter to Lockhart after Connecticut residents tried to fight eviction by using a provision that Dodd wrote into the recently-enacted financial rescue law.

“Foreclosures can have a destabilizing effect on families whether they own or rent their homes,” said Dodd.  “This decision will bring great relief to thousands of renters who were in the wrong place at the wrong time and were being forced from their homes as a result.  While it’s unfortunate that some of my constituents have faced challenges in fighting eviction, I commend them for bringing this issue to my attention and for helping to bring about decisive action from Fannie Mae.  I expect Freddie Mac to follow suit.”

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