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“Everyone under 40 thinks everything about the system is broken.” That’s what Caroline Nagy, Associate Director of Housing Policy here at AFR, told the Financial Times when asked why candidates who fight for affordable housing solutions like rent freezes were extremely popular with younger voters. While housing affordability has been worsening for decades, some young voters have never rented a home during a time when private equity firms hadn’t falsely inflated the cost of housing. Wall Street landlords are fueling a housing crisis with deceptive pricing, junk fees, neglected maintenance, and a wave of unfair evictions. This is the reality as private equity firms gobble up homes and apartments. Their business model wrings every possible dollar out of renters while providing as little as possible in return. Families are left living with mold, broken heating, and threats of eviction, all while Wall Street executives pocket billions. Last year, Invitation Homes, one of the largest landlords in America, was forced by the FTC to return $48 million in refunds to tenants after engaging in illegal practices. That’s a win, but it’s just one company. The problem is systemic. Private equity now controls more than a million housing units in the U.S., raising rents, slapping tenants with junk fees for things like “utility management,” and evicting families solely to maximize their profits. We cannot allow Wall Street to treat housing — which should be safe, affordable, and dignified for all — like a slot machine for Wall Street.
Entire communities are being destabilized by forced evictions and unaffordable rent hikes. Retirees on fixed incomes are being priced out of mobile-home parks. Families who’ve lived in their homes for decades are harassed with bogus late fees and retaliatory eviction notices. And all of it is done in service of one thing: funneling cash to the ultra-wealthy. We know what happens when private equity takes over. Just look at healthcare, retail, and even nursing homes. They extract as much as they can, then leave devastation behind. That’s why we’re fighting back by conducting and supporting investigations, testifying before decisionmakers, and mobilizing grassroots pressure and coalition work across the country. But the private equity lobby is powerful, and they are already spending millions to keep their grip on the housing market. To counter their money, we need grassroots support. Housing is a human right, not a treasure chest for billionaires. Let’s make sure private equity hears us loud and clear: keep your hands off our homes. Ericka Ericka Taylor (she/her)
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