Senator Jon Ossoff is launching an investigation into an increase across the country of large national firms buying single family homes in bulk to convert into rental properties.
“Let me begin by discussing why I’m doing this,” Ossoff said. “There is a housing crisis, not just in metro Atlanta, but across the state of Georgia, and more and more Georgians are unable to afford a home. More and more Georgians who are renting instead of buying are facing mistreatment or abusive practices by corporate landlords.”
Dr. Taylor Shelton with Georgia State University spoke about those corporate landlords during a Wednesday press conference with Ossoff. He says the numbers are higher in Georgia than the rest of the nation.
“In just the last 15 years, large companies have come in and bought up over 70,000 properties across metro Atlanta alone, accounting for over 30% of the region's single-family rental properties, or roughly 10 times the national rate,” according to Shelton.
Shelton said in some areas of Georgia, the rates are over 50 percent. He also stated that three corporations, Blackstone, Progress Residential, and Amherst Holdings, use hundreds of different names and addresses in what Dr. Shelton calls an effort to obscure their ownership.
“Insulating themselves from both public scrutiny and legal liability.”
Senator Ossoff says the investigation into those owners is ongoing.
