Beyond California

The I-Team investigated the "Billion Dollar Landlords" and the tenants who say they're being bullied by them. There are allegations that the landlords are quick to threaten evictions and slow to repair.

The complaints include problems with overall living conditions, repairs, and billing disputes, as well as quick eviction threats. In a joint investigation the ABC7 I-Team and ABC News are exposing complaints connected to the new trend of "Billion Dollar Landlords."

People didn’t really believe it. It was just so outrageously racist,” says Keith Paschall II, an Indianapolis-based community organizer and artist.

“We were all just taken aback,” says Derek Hyra, a researcher on neighborhood change.

They’re talking about an ad on the back of last month’s Urban Times, a local Indianapolis publication.

The third-largest city in the United States, Chicago, is home to more than 2.7 million people, 22 percent of whom were living in poverty as of 2016. In some communities on the South Side and West Side of the city, the poverty problem affects between 40 to 60 percent of residents. Among the many issues facing these 1.3 million Chicagoans with incomes at or below the poverty line, finding and keeping an affordable place to live is one of the most pressing—and increasingly difficult as the city transforms.

Philadelphia is taking steps to protect renters from unfair evictions amid what Mayor Jim Kenney has described as a “housing crisis due to a shortage of safe and affordable housing.”

A landlord with buildings all throughout New York City flouted housing discrimination laws and made it extra tough for families with small kids to find places in their properties, according to a Brooklyn federal lawsuit filed Monday.

The Parkoff Organization allegedly lied to African-Americans about availability and rental rates in at least one Brooklyn apartment, turned back applicants with public rent assistance elsewhere and made children undergo unnecessary lead tests.

Seattle wants to make it easier for formerly incarcerated people to find a home. Today, the City Council is likely to pass a new ordinance that, with few exceptions, would prohibit landlords from screening potential tenants based on past convictions or arrests. With an average of 85 people per month being released from prison and into homelessness in Washington, the Fair Chance Housing ordinance is a new approach for a city grappling with housing and homelessness crises. [UPDATE: The City Council approved the ordinance unanimously.]

Tenants of a south Co Dublin apartment complex have objected to being told to leave their homes by the agent for the two global investment firms that own the block.

PwC, which is acting as receiver for the companies that own St Helen’s Court in Dún Laoghaire, has issued the 17 families and tenants who live in the block with notices to vacate their homes so the complex can be refurbished. They will have an opportunity to re-rent an apartment after the work has been completed, according to the receiver’s letter.

Few facets of our society offer a better display of the depravity of capitalism than the housing industry.

Recently, the Grenfell Tower tragedy killed hundreds of poor people and displaced hundreds more in London. In the United States, we have also seen the displacement of thousands, if not millions, in the wake of the financial crisis. While entire city blocks lay vacant, people sleep on the street or bounce from place to place in search of permanent housing.

Finally, after several years of punishing rent hikes, the pain is finally coming to an end for renters across the country.

Except in Seattle.

New reports show that rents throughout the Seattle area continue to surge at among the highest rates in the country. Meanwhile, other pricey cities like New York and San Francisco are now seeing rents drop, while the average U.S. rent has basically remained flat.

As Oregon continues to grapple with an affordable housing shortage, the Oregon Senate appears ready to kill renters' best hope for new protections in this year's legislative session.
Over the weekend, speculation began spreading online that Democratic senators didn't have the support to pass House Bill 2004. With the clock running out on this year's legislative session, it looks like the legislation will die in committee.

"I can confirm that there is not a path forward for House Bill 2004," says Rick Osborn, a spokesman for Senate Democratic leadership.