3 companies own nearly 38,000 metro Atlanta homes

Darren Clark achieved a lifelong goal when he bought a home in a Henry County neighborhood.

“It means a great deal to own this and leave something for my family,” Clark told Channel 2’s Michael Doudna.

However, over the past few years, he’s watched as the neighborhood has changed from a majority of neighbors being homeowners to being renters.

“I’d say at least 60 percent of the homes around here are owned by corporations,” Clark said.

It’s a growing trend. According to a study by Georgia State University professor Taylor Shelton, three corporations own nearly 38,000 homes in the Atlanta metro area.

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“This is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before in America when it comes to the single-family rental market,” Shelton said.

Shelton says many of the homes are what would be considered “starter homes,” and some counties have been more impacted than others.

For example, corporate landlords own more than 12,000 homes in Paulding and Henry County, accounting for 11.2% and 9.9% of all single-family homes in the counties.

For Paulding, corporate landlords own more than half of all rental units, while in Henry County, that number is nearly 30%.

Shelton says that when corporations control a large market share, it allows corporations to potentially control prices, include junk fees, and neglect maintenance.

“So that means these companies are able to get away with a lot more than they would otherwise because there is no competition. They have essentially crowded out their competitors,” Shelton said.

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Other studies back up those statements. A recent Georgia Tech study found large landlords were 4 to 5 times more likely to have code complaints than their smaller counterparts.

For those like Clark, they want to see changes to give people a leg up over corporations.

“It’s going to be a hard hill to climb to be able to dig out of these corporations owning so many properties. They are going to keep snatching them up,” Clark said.

Senator Jon Ossoff has launched an investigation into these corporations but does not have a timeline for any legislation.

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