In 2022, controversial corporate landlords Essex Property Trust, Equity Residential, and AvalonBay Communities quietly contributed massive sums to a California Apartment Association political committee, which then delivered $125,000 to an anti-rent control campaign in Pasadena. …
Housing Is A Human Right Book Finalist for Los Angeles Press Club Award
Housing Is A Human Right’s must-read book Selling Off California: The Untold Story has been chosen as a finalist for a Los Angeles Press Club award. Selling Off California exposes the powerful alliances and devastating …
Homeless Deaths Increase for Seventh Year in a Row in Los Angeles
For the seventh year in a row, homeless deaths have increased in the Los Angeles area, according to a new report by the L.A. County Department of Public Health. In total, 9,765 unhoused residents have …
Ellis Act Evictions Dramatically Rise in Los Angeles
In the first quarter of 2023, Ellis Act filings dramatically rose in Los Angeles, according to the Coalition for Economic Survival and the Anti-Eviction Mapping Project. It’s a devastating trend that results in less rent-controlled …
Sky-High Rents Fuel Homelessness
Two recent Zillow studies show that sky-high rents are fueling the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles and other major cities. Alarmingly, homeless deaths in 20 U.S. urban areas, including Los Angeles and San Diego, skyrocketed …
Will Progressives Ever Make Housing a Top Priority?
Housing justice activists have been increasingly pushing for the passage of rent control and the repeal of rent control bans in states and cities all over the country. Rents have skyrocketed the most out of …
Tenants Hit Back. RealPage and Corporate Landlords Face More Than 20 Lawsuits.
Across the country, tenants are hitting back after a ProPublica investigation found that RealPage, a Big Tech firm based in Texas, helps a cartel of corporate landlords to wildly inflate rents. So far, RealPage and …
Housing Is A Human Right’s Top 5 Most-Read Stories of 2022
As part of our cutting-edge advocacy, Housing Is A Human Right publishes award-winning advocacy journalism in the News section of our website. We write with a grassroots perspective that mainstream reporters don’t often provide; we …
Big Real Estate Wanted to Keep Charging Excessive Rents. So It Spent $175 Million to Kill Rent Control in California.
In 2018 and 2020, Big Real Estate spent a total of $175.4 million to kill rent control ballot measures in California, aggressively protecting its ability to charge higher and higher rents. Two years later, several …
RealPage Scandal Widens, Big Tech Firm and Corporate Landlords Slapped with Another Lawsuit
The RealPage scandal continues to widen, with the Big Tech firm slapped with a second lawsuit. This time, the legal action was taken in Seattle over “collusion claims” on student housing, according to Bloomberg Law. …