For the homeowner who’s been beholden to the bank for 30 years, finally paying off that mortgage is definitely a good thing. But when a landlord who has a contract with HUD to provide affordable apartments, pays off his or her debt to the bank, not everybody wins.

Everybody knows that DC has an affordable housing crisis. One source of housing for moderate and low-income residents of Washington, DC has been apartments regulated by the department of Housing and Urban Development. DC residents whose income is less than the median of $57,936 have turned to HUD for rent subsidized apartments. Property owners, looking for a good deal on a multifamily unit have bought these buildings at reduced rates. In exchange, they made the apartments available to residents receiving rental assistance. That arrangement stands for as long as the mortgage on the property is still in service, but once the building belongs to the landlord outright, he or she can do whatever they want with it. So, where does that leave the residents who live in the property?

Empower DC’s Linda Leaks is educating tenants who live in HUD properties whose mortgages are on the verge of expiration about their rights, and lobbying Congress to implement legislation that would safeguard low- and moderate-income tenants. WPFW reporter Peter Tucker interviewed her on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. It’s another story that you won’t hear on the nightly news or even read about in the Washington Post, but we have it here. A Massive Maturing of Mortgages [audio:http://www.grassrootsdc.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Linda-Leaks-6-13-101.mp3]