The California Apartment Association and many of the largest corporate landlords in the United States are now gearing up to kill a pro-rent control ballot measure in Redwood City. Last month, the powerful lobbying group, …
Harvard Report Says Government Must Urgently Build Millions of Affordable-Housing Units
In its widely read annual report, the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies made one thing perfectly clear: the government – federal, state, and local – must build more affordable housing. Things are so bad …
Will the Mega-Merger of Equity Residential and AvalonBay Communities Hurt Tenants?
Corporate landlords Equity Residential and AvalonBay Communities have officially merged to form the largest apartment real estate investment trust in the United States. This is no small thing: Equity and AvalonBay own thousands of apartments …
San Pablo Tenants and Activists Will Run Underdog Campaign to Rein In Unfair Rents
In San Pablo, California, tenants and activists have placed a rent stabilization measure on the local ballot, aiming to rein in predatory landlords. Located in Northern California, San Pablo joins Salinas and Redwood City that …
To Address Homelessness, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham Must Also Tackle Skyrocketing Rents
In his first pledge as the United Kingdom’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham has promised to end long-term “rough sleeping” through increased investment in a number of homeless programs. While his commitment is welcomed, any …
Corporate Landlord Greystar at the Center of Yet Another Disturbing Scandal
Only a few months ago, Housing Is A Human Right detailed Greystar’s shocking track record in its mistreatment of tenants, and now the corporate landlord has created yet another disturbing scandal. The New York Times …
California Desperately Needs to Speed Up Permitting to Address the Housing Affordability Crisis
One look at a data dashboard by the California Department of Housing and Community Development shows that the state desperately needs to ramp up the construction of very-low-income, low-income, and moderate-income housing. A key way …
Redwood City Activists and Tenants Move Closer to Much-Needed Rent Control Victory
On July 7, in California, the Redwood City Council gave the green light to place a rent stabilization initiative on the local November ballot. Tenants and activists, led by Faith in Action Bay Area, gathered …
Politicians Must Use Multi-Pronged Strategy for Housing Affordability Crisis
As sky-high rents and homelessness continue to persist in California and across the United States, politicians must adopt a more dynamic, multi-pronged strategy to help poor and middle- and working-class tenants – the “trickle-down” housing …
Landlords Charging Hidden Fees is a Widespread Problem for Renters
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has recently taken up the widespread problem of landlords charging hidden fees, which sneakily increase a tenant’s monthly rent. It’s not only an issue in San Francisco, but also …