PESP speaks at Housing Justice Network Conference

On September 6th, K Agbebiyi, Senior Housing Campaign Coordinator for the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, spoke at the Housing Justice Network Conference in Minneapolis. Hosted by the National Housing Law Project, the Housing Justice Network Conference was attended by lawyers, organizers, and activists from various parts of the housing justice world. The conference served as an opportunity to network and created a space for organizers and lawyers to bridge the gaps that exist within their work. Conference panelists also shared federal legal updates as they pertain to housing justice issues, and direct service providers gave insight on how lawyers could best support their clients. Panels included “Challenging Rental Application Fees & Junk Fees,” and “How Movement Lawyers and Organizers Collaborate in Campaign Coalitions.”

K Agbebiyi spoke on the panel Unsubsidized “Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing” (NOAH): Importance, Loss, and Preservation Strategies. Their co-panelists were Ann Jochnick of the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, Johnathan Jager of Public Counsel, and Jack Cann from the Housing Justice Center. NOAH is unsubsidized housing that is still considered affordable for tenants and community members. According to the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, the majority of affordable rental units in the country are NOAH. Yet because the definition of NOAH can be ambiguous, it is often not tracked or widely understood. NOAH is usually occupied by low income renters of color, and consists of typically older properties, making it the perfect target for redevelopment by corporate investors. 

On the panel, K spoke about the impact the 2008 financial crisis had on the corporate takeover of the United State’s housing market, along with a case study on the city ofAtlanta, which is currently ground zero for the loss of single family rentals to corporate landlords. K also gave case studies on the Southern Towers property in Virginia that was purchased by the private equity firm CIM, along with Blackstone’s purchase of 66 rental properties in San Diego. Sharing the negative impact of corporate purchase of NOAH, K showed examples of different tactics that tenants can use to protect their communities.  K also talked about the role of pension funds and their investments into private equity landlords, along with the role of the Federal Housing Finance Agency in the prominence of corporate landlords, due to the agency giving loans to private equity landlords such as the CIM Group or Blackstone.

The panel was widely attended, with standing room only. Audience members asked questions about the impact of nonprofits purchasing NOAH, and also the role of pension funds and the Federal Housing Finance Agency with private equity firm’s purchasing of NOAH. The Private Equity Stakeholder Project’s housing team looks forward to attending the next Housing Justice Network Conference, and looks forward to engaging in similar collaborations with housing justice lawyers in the future.