In a recent article, “As living costs go up, what’s in your wallet?,” the reporter noted that AvalonBay Communities is dramatically raising rents in Calabasas. As the advocacy journalist for Housing Is A Human Right in Los Angeles, I’m not surprised by that finding.
AvalonBay is one of several corporate landlords embroiled in the ongoing RealPage scandal, in which a cartel of major landlords used a RealPage software program to illegally work together to wildly inflate rents.
ProPublica broke that story in October 2022, which brought on a wave of federal investigations and lawsuits. Recently, the Washington D.C. district attorney filed a lawsuit against RealPage, AvalonBay Communities, and other corporate landlords.
AvalonBay also spent tens of millions to kill two statewide ballot measures, in 2018 and 2020, that would have expanded rent control in California so it could keep charging unfair, excessive rents.
But Californians can finally rein in AvalonBay’s predatory tactics by voting “yes” for the Yes on 33 Act. The November ballot measure, which is sponsored by Housing Is A Human Right and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, will expand rent control in California.
AvalonBay is a prime example of why we must stop corporate landlords’ runaway greed through rent regulations.
Patrick Range McDonald
Los Angeles
Patrick McDonald is an advocacy journalist, Housing Is A Human Right.