THE POOREST RENTERS, THE SHARPEST INCREASES

The report finds that rents for the lowest-cost unsubsidized market-rate housing (workforce housing) increased by 20.2% nationally between 2021 and 2025, more than double the 9.2% increase for luxury (discretionary) housing. This trend is most pronounced in the Sunbelt region, where corporate landlords, including private equity firms, target workforce housing as a low-risk, high-cash-flow investment. The document highlights a crisis of evictions and 'self-evictions' driven by these price hikes and argues that government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac facilitate this corporate takeover by providing easy financing with few tenant protections. It recommends policy interventions such as rent control, just cause eviction laws, and the adoption of investment standards for public pension funds.

• Between 2021 and 2025, rents in the workforce housing sector—the lowest-rent sector of market-rate housing without government subsidies—increased by 20.2% nationally, while discretionary (luxury) housing rents rose by only 9.2%.
• Regional rent increases for workforce housing were highest in Florida (26.8%), the Northeast (25.3%), and the Pacific Northwest (23.2%). In the Southeast, the disparity was most extreme, with workforce rents increasing 7.3 times more than discretionary rents.
• The largest disparities between workforce and discretionary rent increases are concentrated in the Sunbelt region; of the top 20 locations with the highest disparities, all but four are in this region. Jacksonville, Florida, showed a workforce rent increase of 15.6% compared to a 1% increase for discretionary housing.
• Corporate and private equity landlords view workforce housing as a reliable, low-risk source of cash flow because the 'renters by necessity' class is captive due to high demand and limited options, leading to low vacancy and turnover rates.
• Investors often employ a 'value add' strategy, acquiring older, neglected properties to force appreciation through cosmetic renovations and amenity additions, which typically results in higher rents and increased eviction filings for tenants.
• Eviction rates in workforce housing are high, with corporate owners documented to evict at 3.7 times the rate of non-corporate owners. Additionally, 21% of renters in a 2024 Census survey reported feeling pressured to 'self-evict' due to rent increases.
• Government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac facilitate corporate investment in workforce housing by providing easy loan financing with limited tenant protection requirements.
• The report recommends several policy interventions to protect tenants, including just cause eviction laws, a guaranteed right to legal counsel, rent control (specifically suggesting a 3% annual cap), and the creation of a public database to track landlord parent companies and their LLCs.
• Public pension funds are urged to adopt strict investment standards, similar to the New York City Employee Retirement System (NYCERS), to ensure they do not fund asset managers who exploit low-income tenants.

APA

Private Equity Stakeholder Project (2025). THE POOREST RENTERS, THE SHARPEST INCREASES. https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/PESP_Report_Workforce_Housing_Oct_2025.pdf

Chicago

Private Equity Stakeholder Project. THE POOREST RENTERS, THE SHARPEST INCREASES. 2025. https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/PESP_Report_Workforce_Housing_Oct_2025.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Private Equity Stakeholder Project |title=THE POOREST RENTERS, THE SHARPEST INCREASES |date=October 2025 |url=https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/PESP_Report_Workforce_Housing_Oct_2025.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{privateequitystakeholderproject2025poorest, author = {{Private Equity Stakeholder Project}}, title = {{THE POOREST RENTERS, THE SHARPEST INCREASES}}, institution = {Private Equity Stakeholder Project}, year = {2025}, month = oct, url = {https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/PESP_Report_Workforce_Housing_Oct_2025.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }