Case study: Private equity’s buy-up of Michigan housing

June 11, 2025

Over the last decade, private equity and similar investment firms have bought up growing portions of the U.S. housing market, acquiring apartments, single-family homes, and manufactured home communities Like many other states, Michigan has seen a rise in private equity purchases of housing.

Seeking to double or triple their investments in 4-6 years, private equity landlords have often been aggressive at raising rent and fees and quick to evict residents.

In Michigan, private equity firms own at least:

131 manufactured home communities with over 36,700 lots
150 apartment complexes with about 38,600 total units. 19 of these properties with over 4,000 total units are student housing.

The Michigan Department of Treasury, which makes investments on behalf of the Michigan Retirement System, and the University of Michigan Endowment have both made investments with several of these private equity companies.

Student Housing

Nineteen of the private equity-owned apartments and over 4,000 total housing units in Michigan are student housing.

In 2022, Blackstone purchased American Campus Communities, the largest owner of student housing in the U.S. Blackstone now owns 5 student housing apartment properties in Michigan, including Hub Ann Arbor, where according to The Michigan Daily a student reported being charged random fees without notice, including an unannounced increased parking fee. Blackstone has increased the average rent at its five student housing apartment buildings by 26% in the last three years, from $2,172 per month to $2,732 per month, according to market analytics from Yardi Matrix. This is double the 13% average rent increase in rent during this time for apartments in the Lansing-Ann Arbor area.[1]
Another private equity firm, Harrison Street, owns three student housing apartment properties in Michigan and has increased the average rent at these properties 32% since 2021, while average rents in the Lansing-Ann Arbor area increased 23% during this time, according to Yardi Matrix.[2]

The Michigan Treasury Department has made six investments, totaling at least $900 million, in the last 20 years in Blackstone’s real estate funds. The Michigan Treasury Department has also made four investments, totaling $450 million, with Harrison Street since 2011.[3](See chart at end)

Multi-family Housing

The largest private equity owners of apartments in Michigan are:[4]

Private Equity Firm	# Properties	# Units
Lightstone Group	35	10,321
Monarch Investment	42	9,665
The Solomon Organization	11	5,858
FPA Multifamily	11	2,314
Related Companies	12	1,971

Tenants at private equity-owned housing across the United States have reported problems such as large rent increases, hidden fees, poor maintenance and repairs, lack of responsiveness to tenant concerns, and aggressive eviction practices. [5]A number of the largest private equity landlords in Michigan have faced complaints from residents around the country:

In 2024, tenants in New York sued Lightstone Group for allegedly taking advantage of an affordable housing tax break while not abiding by the terms of the program.[6] The lawsuit is pending.[7] In February 2025, tenants at another Lightstone Group property in New York filed a similar lawsuit, alleging that Lightstone owed tenants more than $20 million in rent refunds and millions more in rent reductions. That lawsuit is also pending.[8]
In March 2025, Monarch Investment and Management Group settled a class action lawsuit alleging that it had collected fees that had not been disclosed in lease agreements. Tenants alleged that Monarch had violated state law by using “deceptive and confusing leases to impose excessive fees and deprive tenants of their statutory habitability rights.” One of the plaintiffs in the suit alleged that she had been charged $2,700 in hidden fees. While not admitting any wrongdoing, in addition to financial payouts to tenants, Monarch agreed to expunge almost 500 eviction records related to nonpayment and forgive outstanding bills related to non-rent charges.[9]
The Related Companies agreed to a $12.5 million settlement in a class action lawsuit brought by tenants of a Connecticut property who alleged that the company mismanaged its apartments, causing tenants to suffer from injuries and property losses.[10] Tenants had complained for years about the hazardous and unsanitary living conditions.[11]
Tenants at an apartment in Oakland, California owned by FPA Multifamily filed over a dozen complaints with the city in 2022 relating to problems such as mold and mildew, backed up sewage, no hot water, and electrical issues. [12]

The University of Michigan has made four investments with Related Companies totaling $155 million since 2012.[13] The University of Michigan invested $75 million in 2022 with FPA Multifamily.[14] (See chart at end)

Manufactured Housing

Michigan has the third most private equity-owned manufactured home parks in the U.S., behind only Florida and Texas. Private equity firms own one in every seven manufactured home sites in the state.

Green Courte Partners owns 7 manufactured home parks in Michigan with 2,500 total lots.

A 2022 TV story reported about how the maintenance of the Independence Commons park in Potterville, Michigan had been going downhill. Residents complained that the park had still not cleaned up six months after a home had caught fire, which was a potential danger to kids in the neighborhood. One resident said that the trash from the fire was attracting rodents, including possums who were entering the resident’s home.[15]
A TV story reported that residents of The Reserves park in Jackson, Michigan alleged that Green Courte Partners was trying to kick them out in order to tear their homes down and replace them. “It doesn’t matter if we did what they ask, they want the older homes out of here. They are getting a lot more money to rent these new homes, so they are bringing new homes in,” one resident said. Tenants were currently paying between $100-$500 a month in lot rent. They said that the new homes would have rent of around $900 a month. “A lot of these people don’t have any place to go ya know? You can’t just kick people out on the street. We own these homes. It’s scary, ya know?” another resident said.[16]

The University of Michigan has made three investments totaling $100 million since 2011 with Green Courte Partners.[17] (See chart at end)

Homes of America, a subsidiary of the billion-dollar New York hedge fund Alden Global Capital, owns 13 parks in Michigan.

A Genesee County, Michigan prosecutor earlier this year announced a criminal conviction against Homes of America for operating the North Morris Estates park without a license.[18] The company had to pay a fine and was ordered to sell the property.[19] The park had previously been cited for ongoing violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act.
com in 2023 reported about a resident who was evicted by Homes of America after living in a park in Lincoln Park, Michigan for 17 years.Homes of America claimed the resident, a retiree who lives on Social Security, owed over $1,400 after months of paying partial rent. The resident said that he was never told his lot rent increased from $410 a month to $625 or that there were new fees he was responsible for. He kept paying $410 a month until he received eviction papers.[20]

Yes! Communities is one of the largest owners of manufactured home parks in the country, and about a quarter of its lots are in Michigan. Yes! Owns 64 parks with about 20,900 total lots in the state. Yes! was founded by the private equity firm Stockbridge Capital Partners,[21] which continues to own 29% of the company.[22]

In Michigan, the Macomb Daily in 2022 referred to Yes! Communities as “predatory” in a story about the company’s acquisition of parks. Residents of the Fairfield Lakes park reported about large increases in the lot rent and fees after Yes! bought it. One resident said that her monthly rent increased from about $700 to $1,500, while another resident said her monthly rent and fees for sewer and water jumped from about $1,150 to 1,715. At the same time that Yes! Was raising rents, they were neglecting services and improvements to the park. Residents had been trying to get Yes! to fix the water pressure, which the town’s public works department found to be lower than it should be. According to one resident, “You can’t flush the toilet if the dishwasher is running.”[23]
The ABC News affiliate in Central Florida reported about tenants at a Yes!Communitiespark in Gainesville who were “in an uproar over living conditions.” According to the report, residents “said they informed management about mold, roaches, and security deposits not being returned in a timely manner.” One renter recounted the problems that she faced after she complained to management about a crack in her bathtub. They removed the bathtub and found mold and mildew in the walls. According to the tenant, Yes! Communities said “they were going to gut the entire bathroom and redo it along with the walls,” but instead they just painted over the mold. Another tenant said that he had been waiting a year for an exterminator.[24]

Havenpark Communities owns 15 parks in Michigan with about 5,300 total lots. This represents 28% of Havenpark’s lots in the U.S.

A 2021 Capitol News Service article detailed what happened following Havenpark’s acquisition of a number of parks.[25]
- Havenpark hiked the rent and charged new fees, increasing the cost to one resident by 40%, at the Swartz Creek Estates park in Swartz Creek, Michigan.
- Havenpark immediately announced rent increases up to 60% after buying the Golfview Mobile Home Court in Iowa. One resident’s costs increased from $283/month to $500 due to higher rent and utility charges.
- After Havenpark bought Midwest Country Estates in Iowa, Havenpark refused to renew the lot rental agreement of a woman on disability without giving her a reason for the eviction. She had no choice but to move out and had to quickly find a buyer for her mobile home and had to sell it for less than half its value.

Investments in Real Estate Funds of Private Equity Landlords that Own Rental Housing in Michigan[26]

MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY
Private Equity Fund	Year	Amount
Blackstone Real Estate Partners X	2022	$200 million
Blackstone Real Estate Partners IX	2019	$300 million
Blackstone Real Estate Partners VIII	2015	$100 million
Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII	2011	$100 million
Blackstone Real Estate Partners VI	2007	$200 million
Blackstone Real Estate Partners V	2005	$50 million
TOTAL		$950 million

Harrison Street Real Estate Partners VII	2020	$150 million
Harrison Street Real Estate Partners V	2014	$115 million
Harrison Street Real Estate Partners V Co-Invest	2014	$35 million
Harrison Street Core Property Fund	2011	$150 million
TOTAL		$450 million

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Private Equity Fund	Year	Amount
FPA Apartment Opportunity Fund VIII	2022	$75 million

RFM UM PE (Related Companies)	2022	$35 million
Related Real Estate Fund III	2020	$50 million
Related Real Estate Fund II	2015	$35 million
Related Real Estate Recovery Fund	2012	$35 million
TOTALS		$155 million

Green Courte Real Estate Partners V	2019	$50 million
Green Courte Real Estate Partners IV	2016	$30 million
Green Courte Real Estate Partners III	2011	$20 million
TOTALS		$100 million

[1] Source: Yardi Matrix. The average rent for an apartment in the Lansing – Ann Arbor area increased from $1,229/mo. in the second quarter of 2022 to $1,389 in the first quarter of 2025.

[2] Source: Yardi Matrix. The average rent for an apartment in the Lansing-Ann Arbor area increased from

[3] Source: Pitchbook, https://www.michigan.gov/treasury/-/media/Project/Websites/treasury/SMIB/2025/SMIB-Report-202542.pdf

[4] Yardi Matrix

[5]https://www.merkley.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/imo/media/doc/financial_service_committee_report.pdf

[6]https://archive.ph/gVc6d#selection-2329.0-2329.371

[7]https://trellis.law/case/36081/715258-2024/cheng-leo-et-al-v-50-01-2nd-street-associates-llc

[8]https://licpost.com/class-action-lawsuit-accuses-lic-landlord-of-illegal-rent-overcharges

[9]https://www.kaaltv.com/news/minnesota-apartment-owner-ordered-to-repay-tenants-for-hidden-fees-in-class-action-lawsuit/

[10]https://www.branfordmanorsettlement.com/admin/api/connectedapps.cms.extensions/asset?id=93534fa7-aeed-49df-bd16-fc1a3917703d&languageId=1033&inline=true. Related denied any wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

[11] https://ctmirror.org/2023/03/06/ct-branford-manor-apartment-complex-tenant-blumenthal-murphy-courtney/

[12]https://www.postnewsgroup.com/as-oakland-rent-strike-at-3rd-avenue-building-continues-management-hires-armed-guards/

[13] https://regents.umich.edu/files/meetings/05-20/2020-05-IX-1.pdf; https://regents.umich.edu/files/meetings/05-15/2015-05-IX-3.pdf; https://regents.umich.edu/files/meetings/10-11/2011-10-IX-2.pdf; https://regents.umich.edu/files/meetings/06-16/2016-06-IX-2.pdf