The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Local governments rarely hold landlords accountable
ics and housing supply demand imbalances for years to come,” Dallas Tanner, the CEO of Invitation Homes, said in a 2021 earnings call.
Tanner made $9.7 million that year in salary, stock awards and incentives — up from $5.5 million in 2020.
Company officials declined interview requests. In a statement, an Invitation spokesperson said: “We are very careful not to suggest we offer affordable housing, but we are also very clear that renting is more affordable than buying in many markets.”
Brian An, who authored the Georgia Tech study, estimated for the AJC that the drop in homeownership attributable to investors equates to more than $4 billion in lost wealth for metro Atlanta families.
“When they have investor meetings, the CFOs brag, ‘Our rate of return has really increased,’” An said. “So where does that money come from? That comes from those who have lost their homes, or those that cannot move in, and even from those who have moved in as renters.”
‘We’re chasing our tail’
Every level of government had a role in helping the largest firms amass portfolios of thousands of rental homes.
Federal policies helped create the modern single-family rental industry in the wake of the 2008 housing crash, then encouraged its growth with rock-bottom interest rates and taxpayer-backed loans long after the crisis abated.
Today, large investors have moved beyond buying foreclosed homes for cheap, and actively compete against Atlanta families for starter homes.
Meanwhile, state laws make it easy for corporate landlords to maximize profits, shirk their maintenance responsibilities and evict tenants when they refuse to pay for an uninhabitable home, the AJC found. Studies show the largest single-family landlords take full advantage, raising rents and fees faster — and evicting tenants more frequently — than small and midsized landlords.
Understaffed and overwhelmed, local governments have failed to use the few tools they have to hold landlords accountable.
The consequences are strewn across the Atlanta suburbs.
Raw sewage spilled for months from a Kennesaw home into a nearby creek. Faulty wiring in a Stockbridge home
sparked an electrical fire in the dead of night, forcing a frightened family to evacuate. And a Florida family lost most of its $1,800 security deposit after abandoning a “move-in ready” Decatur rental that had no water or heat, active gas and carbon monoxide leaks, and a mold infestation.
Brian Morris, the code enforcement director for the city of South Fulton, said it took a year to get someone at Progress Residential to respond to complaints about trash and overgrown grass violations. Using tax assessor and deed records, the city sent certified mail to the Arizona-based LLCs that owned more than a dozen homes in a single subdivision. The city also tried to contact the New York-based agent registered with the Secretary of State’s Office.
No one answered, he said. “When we see that property go into disrepair, we’re chasing our tail,” Morris said. “All those barriers they put between us and contacting them adds weeks and weeks and weeks to the process.”
State law blocks local governments from making it easier to find landlords. In Georgia, cities can’t require them to register rental properties and provide a point of contact.
Morris said he finally got Progress’ attention when the city moved
to clean up the mess itself and file a lien against the property. A company attorney apologized. His excuse: Progress owns more than 80,000 homes nationwide, and “we just took our eyes off this one,” Morris recalled.
Hot days, mold, ruined furniture
If any tenant could navigate the system to get results from an out-ofstate landlord, it should be Lowman, a former assistant Fulton County manager with extensive ties to local government.
But she found what thousands of people in her situation do: Georgia law is not on her side.
After her air conditioning died last May, months went by without a response from VineBrook. Lowman researched her rights as a renter and notified the company that she would make repairs herself and deduct it from her rent. She filed a code enforcement complaint July 7, and the city of Stonecrest confirmed two violations.
Meanwhile, the hot days on Salem Trail dragged on. Mold invaded the home. Lowman threw out ruined clothes, furniture and kitchen utensils. One VineBrook contractor tried to install a gas-powered air unit, only to realize the house doesn’t have gas hookups, she said.
She prepared a speech for Stonecrest
Municipal Court, where she hoped to convince the judge the only way to hold a corporate giant like VineBrook accountable was to levy the maximum fine allowed under Georgia law.
“It’s $1,000 a day, and they started it May 2. It’s accrued since then, so we’re already at $180,000 at this point,” or $90,000 per violation, Lowman told the AJC on Aug. 8.
That afternoon, VineBrook finally replaced her AC unit — 98 days after it broke. But she said the company never fully addressed the mold.
On Sept. 6, the judge kicked her off the Zoom call and told her to watch on YouTube. Tenants aren’t allowed to testify against the homeowner during code enforcement hearings, Lowman was told. A company representative asked for a delay, and the judge agreed. Portfolio Manager Martin Burrow said he hadn’t been notified of the hearing in time to get an attorney.
His defense was plausible in a state that makes it hard to serve legal notice to landlords. The shell company that owns the home, “P Fin II F LLC,” is still registered to the address of a previous owner. Lowman, who had spoken with the company’s attorney about a settlement in August, found Burrow’s excuse dubious.
On Oct. 27, VineBrook pleaded no contest to the two charges and paid a $500 fine.
The consequences for Lowman were far worse.
She spent $2,200 on hotels and portable AC units. When she tried to deduct the repairs from her rent, VineBrook’s online portal wouldn’t accept a penny less than the full amount. So on the same day a contractor fixed her air conditioning, VineBrook threatened to evict her if she didn’t vacate the home. Since then, she’s spent close to $4,000 to hire an attorney, wiping out much of what she had saved for a down payment.
“All that I wanted was my air conditioning to work,” Lowman said.
In an August court filing, VineBrook denied any wrongdoing. Its attorney, June James, wrote that the landlord made “timely repairs” and had not caused Lowman “unnecessary trouble and expense.”
Later, in a January statement to the AJC, a VineBrook spokesman acknowledged the company was to blame.
“While we strive for resident satisfaction and believe average resident