The Real Dirt is a monthly column by award-winning advocacy journalist Patrick Range McDonald that exposes the real estate industry’s lies, scams, and other unscrupulous acts, which impact the lives of millions. UCLA delivered a …
Predatory Corporate Landlords Target Black Tenants for Eviction, Says New UCLA Study
A new study has found that predatory corporate landlords are targeting Black tenants for eviction in the Los Angeles area. The eye-popping report, carried out by a UCLA researcher, also found that Equity Residential, Essex …
As Nation’s Largest Corporate Landlords Keep Growing, Rent Control is Needed More Than Ever
The National Multifamily Housing Council, the powerful landlord lobbying group based in Washington D.C., has released a new ranking of the nation’s largest corporate landlords. What becomes clear is that as Big Real Estate continues …
Nation’s Largest Corporate Landlords Use California Apartment Association to Make Outsized Profits
The California Apartment Association often frames itself as a defender of mom-and-pop landlords, but that’s anything but the truth. Research shows time and again that many of the nation’s largest corporate landlords use the CAA …
Big Real Estate Raised $171.6 Million to Kill Prop 33 and Pass Prop 34
For the 2024 election, Big Real Estate raised a whopping total of $171.6 million to kill Proposition 33 and pass Proposition 34 in California. Several of the top contributors are the country’s largest corporate landlords. …
California Apartment Association Carries Out Dirty Work for Corporate Landlords
In 2022, corporate landlords Essex Property Trust, Equity Residential, and AvalonBay Communities, three of the largest apartment owners in the United States, quietly carried out a shell game with the California Apartment Association to kill …
California Apartment Association Carries Out Statewide Attack on Tenant Protections
For years, the California Apartment Association, the front group for corporate landlords, has carried out a statewide attack on tenant protections — no matter who gets hurt. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization even fought temporary safeguards …
Exclusive: Top Ten Contributors to No on Prop 33 and Yes on Prop 34 in California
It gets little, if any, media coverage, but a small group of corporate landlords are overwhelmingly funding the No on Prop 33 and Yes on Prop 34 campaigns in California. Additionally, several of those companies …
Scandal-Plagued Contributors Shell Out $102.5 Million to Kill Prop 33 and Silence AHF
Scandal-plagued contributors from the real estate industry have shelled out a shocking $102.5 million to kill Proposition 33 and pass Proposition 34 in California – and that number is only rising. The controversial donors include …
Corporate Landlords Are Overwhelmingly Funding No on Prop 33 and Yes on Prop 34 Campaigns
Housing Is A Human Right has found that a group of 11 corporate landlords, including Essex Property Trust and Blackstone, is overwhelmingly funding the No on Prop 33 and Yes on Prop 34 campaigns in …