CERBERUS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT’S THREE-HEADED ATTACK ON HOMEOWNERS, TENANTS

The report details how Cerberus Capital Management, through its portfolio companies FirstKey Homes and Landmark Mortgages, has engaged in aggressive eviction practices, neglected property maintenance, and trapped homeowners in unfavorable mortgage terms. In the US, FirstKey Homes is cited for high eviction rates in cities like Memphis and Atlanta, and for outbidding first-time homebuyers in Phoenix. In the UK, Landmark Mortgages is criticized for maintaining 'mortgage prisons' for borrowers who cannot switch to better deals despite making payments.

• Cerberus Capital Management operates FirstKey Homes, a single-family rental company that owns over 21,000 homes across 26 US markets.
• FirstKey Homes has been identified as having significantly higher eviction filing rates than other rental property managers in Memphis, Tennessee, using a 'pay and stay' strategy to collect penalties and fees.
• In Clayton County, Georgia, FirstKey Homes or Cerberus entities filed for eviction at least 222 times between May 2018 and February 2020, representing a 40 percent filing rate across its 328 homes in the county.
• Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Cerberus advanced several eviction cases in March 2020 across Georgia and Florida, although the company claims to have halted new filings.
• FirstKey Homes has a record of poor property maintenance and code violations; in Memphis, Cerberus-owned occupied properties were at the top of the list of residential code violators in early 2018 with 46 violations.
• In Phoenix, Arizona, Cerberus's practice of paying cash and outbidding individual buyers for homes under $300,000 has limited the availability of housing for first-time homebuyers.
• In the United Kingdom, Cerberus-owned Landmark Mortgages manages a portfolio of 65,000 mortgages acquired for £13 billion, with critics and public officials alleging that homeowners are kept in 'mortgage prisons' where they cannot switch to better deals.

APA

Sorensen, P. (2020). CERBERUS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT’S THREE-HEADED ATTACK ON HOMEOWNERS, TENANTS. Private Equity Stakeholder Project. https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Cerberus-Three-Headed-Attack-on-Homeowners-Tenants-PESP-041320.pdf

Chicago

Sorensen, Pilar. CERBERUS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT’S THREE-HEADED ATTACK ON HOMEOWNERS, TENANTS. Private Equity Stakeholder Project, 2020. https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Cerberus-Three-Headed-Attack-on-Homeowners-Tenants-PESP-041320.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sorensen |first1=Pilar |title=CERBERUS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT’S THREE-HEADED ATTACK ON HOMEOWNERS, TENANTS |publisher=Private Equity Stakeholder Project |date=April 2020 |url=https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Cerberus-Three-Headed-Attack-on-Homeowners-Tenants-PESP-041320.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sorensen2020cerberus, author = {Sorensen, Pilar}, title = {{CERBERUS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT’S THREE-HEADED ATTACK ON HOMEOWNERS, TENANTS}}, institution = {Private Equity Stakeholder Project}, year = {2020}, month = apr, url = {https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Cerberus-Three-Headed-Attack-on-Homeowners-Tenants-PESP-041320.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }