A coalition of tenants, housing groups, and civic leaders from across Georgia have started a new advocacy campaign called “End the Corporate Takeover.” It’s another effort by advocates and renters in the United States to unify and use people power to stand up to uber-wealthy corporate landlords – together, tens of millions of tenants and activists can put extreme pressure on politicians to pass strong renter protections and quickly build more affordable and homeless housing. It’s an organizing strategy that was repeatedly called for at the recent National Conference on Rent Control and Tenant Rights in New York City.
A few weeks ago, Georgia activists and tenants, led by the Housing Justice League, announced the start of the End the Corporate Takeover campaign in response to Big Real Estate’s increasing presence in their state, which has resulted, over the years, in skyrocketing rents, gentrification and displacement, and less single-family homes for people to buy and build generational wealth.
“Corporate landlords are investment firms that use their capital to push out potential homeowners and buy large numbers of homes and apartments to take control of an area’s rental housing – effectively creating a monopoly in your neighborhood,” states the coalition at the End the Corporate Takeover website. “North Georgia communities are being eaten up by corporate landlords looking to turn a fast profit, with no regard for who might be harmed in the process.”
According to the coalition, corporate landlords own a whopping 33 percent of single-family home rentals in metro Atlanta – or more than 78,000 homes – and 22 percent of Georgia’s multi-family apartments.
“If you’re a Georgia renter, you’ve probably experienced their ruthless behavior firsthand,” notes the coalition. “These companies are neglecting repairs, colluding to raise rent prices, and coming up with new and ridiculous ‘junk fees’ to squeeze more money out of tenants.”
The coalition adds, “They are buying up single-family homes, converting them into rentals and shutting individuals and families out of homeownership. In some zip codes, corporations own more than half of all single family rentals. This doesn’t have to be our reality. Let’s fight back for our neighborhoods, homes, and dignity.”
Georgia activists and tenants are seeking to cap the number of residential properties a corporate landlord can own; ban rent-fixing software used by corporate landlords to collude and wildly inflate rents; put limits on junk fees that raise a tenant’s rent; create registries so the public can track who owns rental properties; and pass stronger tenant protections such as rent regulations. Georgia politicians first need to reform or repeal statewide restrictions on rent control.
The Atlanta Economic Justice Program of the American Friends Service Committee is working with the Housing Justice League on the End the Corporate Takeover campaign.
The problems that activists and tenants are facing in Georgia have also popped up in states across the country. That was underlined at last month’s National Conference on Rent Control and Tenant Rights in New York City, which was sponsored by Housing Is A Human Right and its parent organization, AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
Activists continually told horror stories of predatory landlords charging excessive rents, aggressively evicting people, and neglecting the upkeep of properties. And they believed a nationwide people-power movement was crucial for fighting corporate landlords, who have deep pockets to lobby politicians and buy political favors through campaign contributions.
“The only way we can do this is by working together,” said Mari Lopez Ruiz, of the Central Valley Empowerment Alliance in California, at the rent control conference. “We recognize we don’t have the money [of Big Real Estate], but we have people power.”
Luana Green, of the Chelsea Public Housing Coalition in New York City, said tenants can’t wait for politicians to do the right thing. “We have to stand up and fight for ourselves,” Green urged conference attendees.
The good news is that activists and renters in Georgia, California, New York, and many other states are now linking arms and demanding that politicians urgently help poor and middle- and working-class tenants.
Specifically, Housing Is A Human Right and other housing justice groups advocate for the “3 Ps”: protect tenants through rent control and other protections; preserve existing affordable housing, don’t demolish it for luxury housing; and produce new affordable and homeless housing through adaptive reuse and pre-fabricated housing. It’s the most urgent, and direct, way to address an housing affordability crisis that’s slamming the poor and middle and working class.
Patrick Range McDonald is an award-winning investigative reporter and advocacy journalist for Housing Is A Human Right.