Taking on the Corporate Takeover of Affordable Housing

Fires fueled by climate change have destroyed thousands of homes in Southern California, many of which had been in African American families for generations. They held irreplaceable memories and heirlooms. But before the ashes had even settled, tenant organizers caught landlords hiking up rents on apartment listings, seeking to profit off of others’ suffering.

Profiteering is a risk both in the immediate aftermath of a disaster and in the long-term recovery. Southern California community land trusts have issued a letter calling on state lawmakers to commit to a just and equitable recovery from the fires to combat speculation, prevent mass displacement, and promote permanently affordable housing and community control.

Tenant and community organizers have seen this pattern of speculators exploiting crises for profit before. Around the state, they have been fighting back against predatory practices in housing – and winning.

Two years ago, resident leaders from Rising Juntos, ACCE, and others beat back massive rent increases at two corporate-owned affordable housing complexes in Antioch. The tenants went on to win city-wide rent control, as well as anti-harassment and just cause for eviction protections.

The abuse these renters experienced is one piece of a much larger story of how corporate investors are buying up affordable housing stock and using public subsidies to reap massive profits at the expense of the low-income residents. This practice is detailed in our report, The Failure of For-Profit Affordable Housing – And How Tenants are Organizing for Change, which has gained national media coverage.

As a part of a statewide coalition, we leveraged this on-the-ground momentum to win big policy changes in Sacramento, closing the loophole that exempted affordable housing from state rent caps. As a result, over a million low-income residents across California who live in affordable housing are now protected from excessive rent increases.

With the power of organized tenants growing across California, we are continuing to work with our local partners to win even bolder protections for renters.