What needs to be done?

Georgia has preemptively banned local rent control, which is why advocating for a state law that stabilizes rent is important. For example, affordable housing development incentives and public housing programs could serve as a strong step in the right direction for protecting tenants. Without proper rent control in place, tenants are at risk of unjust rent increases that force them to move out.

There is also a lack of disclosure provided to tenants when renting from corporate landlords, allowing them to charge their tenants with fees that were never mentioned on the lease. There should be laws in place that force these landlords to disclose all potential fees and future rent increases.

There is a great lack of zoning laws in place helping prevent gentrification, often allowing landlords to buy up a large amount of property in one area and hike up the housing prices of entire neighborhoods. Inclusionary zoning laws could could require developers to set aside a percentage of homes in a certain area for renting and affordable housing.

Another strong idea could be the creation of tenant unions, where tenants can organize with one another and fight against unjust conditions and rent increases.

Lastly, a new policy should be in place that grants tenants the right to purchase their building before the landlord sells it to another investor. This would give communities a chance to take control of their housing and prevent displacement from potential large-scale corporate gentrification.

Rent prices in Atlanta are increasing well above the national average.

Sources:

https://bipartisanpolicy.org/blog/a-snapshot-of-housing-supply-and-affordability-challenges-in-atlanta/

https://news.gsu.edu/2024/02/26/researchers-find-three-companies-own-more-than-19000-rental-houses-in-metro-atlanta/

https://taylorshelton.info/publication/horizontal-holdings/horizontal-holdings.pdf

https://jacobin.com/2022/06/corporate-landlords-ca-tenants-unions-finance

https://atlantaagentmagazine.com/2021/07/09/atlanta-apartment-rents-continue-to-climb/

https://www.aecf.org/blog/whats-needed-to-create-and-preserve-affordable-housing-in-atlanta#:~:text=Housing%20affordability%20is%20a%20citywide,Black%20residents%20own%20their%20homes.

https://nlihc.org/resource/gao-releases-report-institutional-investments-single-family-rental-housing#:~:text=GAO%20estimates%20that%20institutional%20investors,FL's%20single%2Dfamily%20rental%20market.

https://www.atlantafed.org/community-development/publications/partners-update/2017/01/170216-housing-instability-single-family-evictions-in-one-atlanta-metro-county

https://www.11alive.com/article/news/atlanta-is-rapidly-gentrifying-heres-where/85-2fee7faa-212d-4960-9c4e-5b4b95a7181f

https://mappingatlanta.org/2023/01/17/atlantas-corporate-landlords/

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