US Senate Banking and Housing Committee Holds Hearings on Institutional Landlords as PESP Reports Record Acquisitions and High Evictions by Corporate Landlords in 2021

The US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs this week is holding a tenant listening session (February 8, 10:00 AM EST) and a hearing (February 10, 10:00 AM) on “How Institutional Landlords are Changing the Housing Market.”

The Private Equity Stakeholder Project will submit testimony to the Thursday hearing, detailing how private equity firms and other corporate landlords filed to evict at least 123,761 families in various counties in Georgia, Florida, Texas, Arizona, Tennessee, and Nevada in 2021. Since the start of the pandemic, corporate landlords have filed at least 168,902 evictions in these areas.

PESP Testimony for Senate Banking Committee hearing on “How Institutional Landlords are Changing the Housing Market”

Last year, private equity firms and other corporate landlords poured billions into residential housing acquisitions. In the third quarter of 2021 alone, investors bought a record 90,000 single-family homes – an 80% increase over the previous year.

This avalanche of investment has also put private equity landlords under the congressional microscope again, with U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren investigating private equity’s role in rising home and rent prices. On January 13, Senator Elizabeth Warren sent letters to private equity/investment firm landlords Progress Residential, Invitation Homes, and American Homes 4 Rent, demanding answers for each of the company’s recent eviction filings, acquisitions, and earnings.

All three companies were among the top eviction filers in 2021. Progress Residential, and its affiliate rental companies Front Yard Residential and Havenbrook Homes filed at least 2,202 evictions last year. Invitation Homes and American Homes 4 Rent filed at least 1,372 and 556 evictions, respectively, in counties where PESP tracks evictions.

Despite federal and state eviction moratoriums and billions in federal rental assistance, large corporate landlords consistently filed evictions throughout the year. After the federal eviction moratorium ended in August, evictions filings by corporate landlords were 21% higher in September. For the rest of the year, the number of corporate eviction filings each month remained above filings levels during the moratorium.

In total, corporate landlords filed at least 58,002 evictions between the end of the federal eviction moratorium in late August and December 31. During this time, corporate landlords were responsible for over 56% of all evictions filed in counties where PESP tracks eviction filings.

– Georgia: Corporate landlords filed to evict at least 42,629 families in Fulton, Gwinnett, DeKalb, Clayton, and Chatham counties last year. Between September 1 and December 31, corporate landlords filed at least 24,260 evictions. During this time, corporate landlords were responsible for more than 76% of all evictions filed in these counties.

– Texas: Corporate landlords in Harris (Houston), Tarrant (Fort Worth), and Travis (Austin) counties filed at least 28,116eviction last year, of which, 44% were filed in the months after the federal eviction moratorium was lifted.

– Tennessee: In Shelby County (Memphis), corporate landlords filed to evict at least 6,903 families in 2021. Between the end of the eviction moratorium and December 31, corporate landlords filed at least 3,617 evictions.

– Florida: Corporate landlords filed at least 27,057 evictions in counties throughout Florida last year. Corporate landlords filed at least 12,170 evictions in Florida after the eviction moratorium ended and were responsible for at least 42% of all eviction filings during this time.

– Nevada: Corporate landlords filed to evict at least 7,411 residents in Las Vegas last year. Corporate landlords were responsible for 45% of all eviction filings in Las Vegas after the eviction moratorium ended in August, filing 5,529 evictions.

Notable filers in 2021 include:

Pretium Partners (Progress Residential, Front Yard Residential, and Havenbrook Homes) filed to evict at least 2,202 families in 2021. The majority of these filings – 87% – occurred while the federal eviction moratorium was still in place.

Invitation Homes filed to evict at least 1,372 families in 2021, primarily in Florida and Georgia. After the federal eviction moratorium was lifted, Invitation Homes filed to evict 778 families.

Ventron Management filed at least 1,579 evictions last year. 88% of these evictions occurred in DeKalb County, Georgia.

Bridge Investment Group filed at least 1,167 evictions in counties across five states in 2021. In September, Bridge Investment Group filed at least 165 evictions – and 83% increase over the previous month when the eviction moratorium was still in effect.

American Landmark Apartments/ Electra America filed to evict at least 1,293 families in 2021 and 616 families after the eviction moratorium ended in late August.

Blue Magma Residential filed to evict at least 1,220 families in 2021. In the month after the eviction moratorium ended, Blue Magma Residential increased evictions by 67%, filing at least 211 eviction cases.

Olive Tree Holdings increased eviction filings by 163% between August and September, filing 158 evictions in September alone. In total, Olive Tree Holdings filed to evict 321 families after the moratorium was lifted.

Top 50 Filers in 2021