The Housing Crisis Isn’t Just About Supply — It’s About Power, Policy & Justice
​
The cost of housing is climbing so fast in so many communities that it’s become a crisis of dignity, not just dollars. Renters are squeezed, would-be homeowners keep getting out-priced, and whole neighborhoods feel the pressure. But if we want to get serious about solving this, we have to look past the headlines and ask: Who controls housing? Under what rules? For whose benefit?
Because the uncomfortable truth is this: the housing problem isn’t just that there aren’t enough homes. It’s that the homes that do exist are being bought, rented, priced and regulated under a system that rewards speculation, corporate profit and landlord power — instead of stability, affordability and tenant rights.
Take corporate ownership of housing. It’s not a sidebar; it’s a major driver of rising costs and shrinking opportunity. Institutions and private-equity firms have swooped into housing markets — buying up large swaths of single-family homes and rental units, often out-bidding local buyers and then converting properties into profit-machines. Once the corporations own the units, renters find fewer protections and higher rents. One recent study found that among properties that were formerly un-subsidized affordable housing, about 40 % of those owned by corporate entities lost their affordability between 2020 and 2023 — compared with about 28 % for family-owned properties.
We cannot build true housing justice when large companies are allowed to treat homes as assets rather than places to live. So one of the first reforms must be capping corporate ownership in residential housing — limiting the number of units or homes that a single corporate entity can own, and ensuring that community-ownership, tenant-co-ops, and non-profit housing have meaningful priority.
At the same time, we must build homes that are actually affordable — not just “market rate minus something” — genuinely affordable for working people, underwritten by public policy, not just speculation. Because even when the supply increases, too many of the new homes are priced out of reach for the people who need them most. In fact, researchers at the Brookings Institution note our housing-supply problem is deeply intertwined with affordability, not just quantity. What that means: regulations, incentives and funding mechanisms must focus on affordability floors — and ensure that housing built today remains affordable tomorrow.
That leads into another piece: the bureaucratic red tape around building housing. Zoning restrictions, minimum-lot-sizes, exclusionary single-family zones, costly permitting delays and fees — they all raise the cost of building, restrict where new housing can go, and limit creative housing solutions (tiny homes, accessory dwelling units, co-ops, modular builds). When building becomes so expensive or so difficult that only high-cost housing makes sense, affordability is lost before a single nail is driven. We need comprehensive reform: streamline permitting, reduce or waive fees for truly affordable housing, reform zoning to allow more housing types, accelerate approval processes. Every month a home sits in limbo adds thousands of dollars — costs landlords pass on to renters or buyers.
And speaking of renters: we must shift our policy focus from protecting landlords to protecting tenants. Too often, the narrative is that landlords are the “small business” under siege, while renters are passive victims. But in reality, when rents soar and eviction risks increase, families are destabilized — their jobs, schools, health all suffer. Corporate landlords, rent hikes, algorithmic pricing, evictions for profit — these are not abstract problems. Renters need stronger protections: limits on rent increases, just-cause eviction laws, rights to organize, transparency in fees and lease terms, and tenant access to legal representation. Housing stability should not be a privilege but a given for people who follow the rules and pay their bills.
Putting this all together: imagine a system where no single entity can own endless units just to extract profits; where homes are built for the many, not just the few; where new housing is built faster, cheaper, and more inclusive; and where renters have rights, protections, and dignity. That is the future we deserve.
Because if housing is treated like a commodity above everything else, then affordability will continue to recede. But if we treat housing like what it really is — a foundation for life, community, work, family — then we can rebuild a system that works for people again.
​
​
​