GEORGIA
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock joined other Democratic officials, including Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, in front of a corporate-owned house in southwest Atlanta on Monday to celebrate a new federal law intended to give renters more hope in their quest to become homeowners.
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act became law at midnight Friday without the signature of President Donald Trump, who was protesting the lack of action on an unrelated bill.
The new law offers incentives to local communities to encourage more home construction and caps corporate ownership of rental housing, which became an issue after the Great Recession.
Workers cannot compete with Wall Street when buying a home, Warnock said, speaking in the middle of a temporarily closed Adamsville Drive in front of a corporate-owned house.
“They will outbid you every time. So, this is about fairness,” Warnock said, adding that Atlanta is “ground zero for private equity’s domination of the housing market.”
The house behind Warnock, which he said should be owned by an individual rather than a corporation, is listed in Fulton County property records as belonging to a company in Scottsdale, Ariz. DeKalb County property records list that same company as sharing a mailing address with Invitation Homes.
Invitation Homes was the subject of criticism last summer by another Democrat, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, who staged an event at the company’s Atlanta headquarters where renters could complain about conditions at its properties.
One renter described dangerous debris in his backyard that injured one of his dogs. Another complained about gas leaks at her home.
“We’re not humans to them. We’re dollar signs,” she said. “I felt completely worthless and small.”
An Invitation Homes spokesperson told Capitol Beat at the time that the company had more than 200 associates in Georgia to address such problems. The spokesperson did not address the specific complaints of the two renters.
Warnock said large private-equity investors own a quarter of Atlanta’s single-family rental homes.
Other reports support that figure. While Atlanta is an epicenter of the phenomenon, corporations own a far smaller share of all houses. Corporate rental stock comprises 3% of all single-family homes in Atlanta, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts, which has produced numerous reports about the housing crisis.
Pew has concluded that the most significant solution is to build many more homes.
Warnock noted that the new law encourages home construction, which he helped shape through amendments.
The law changes federal housing grant formulas in a way that incentivizes communities to allow denser development and faster permitting.
Dickens said it will encourage developers to build more starter homes while supporting zoning that allows for more duplexes, townhouses and multifamily housing.
“This is just enabling us to get more out of the land,” he said, speaking alongside City Councilmember Andrea Boone, who represents the area.
Warnock called the new law a necessary first step. He praised the bipartisan collaboration that led to its passage, saying that is the only way to make lasting change.
He also noted the enormity of the challenge ahead, with analysts estimating a shortage of 4 million to 5 million homes in the United States.
“This is an important step today in the right direction,” Warnock said. “But this is not the end. There’s more legislation that we need to do. We have a real housing affordability crisis in this country.”