ATLANTA — Efforts to address affordable housing could soon come from the federal government. This Tuesday, the Biden administration announced a proposal to cap how much landlords could raise rent or risk losing tax breaks.
Metro Atlanta realtor Alex Szemetyllo, he adds, in recent years he’s watched rent drastically increase for his clients.
“Rent skyrocketed," he told 11Alive. "I know people who went from $1300 to $1800 over the course of one lease renewal."
Resident Eric Evens said his family feels the change, too.
“I think that it’s too high for people who only make, I say, $12 an hour," Evens said. "That's $800 every two weeks. It’s not enough for you to afford to pay your rent, let alone get a car note, let alone feed yourself."
To help provide relief, President Joe Biden asked Congress on Tuesday to give landlords with 50 or more units a choice: cap annual rent increases at 5% or risk losing federal tax breaks.
Elizabeth Appley has been working with state leaders on affordable housing for decades and said she believes "this is a modest proposal to cap increases."
"Five percent is above what has been the standard increase in rent in this state that we saw prior to the pandemic,” she explained.
According to statistics from Rent.com, in May 2019, the median rent in Atlanta was $1298 a month. In October 2022, it jumped to $1676 before falling slightly to $1580 last month.
“In Georgia we have seen rent increase by 24% between 2019 and 2023," Appley said. "That’s a huge increase."
"Rent is now unaffordable," she added. "You have to earn over $60,000 a year -- and that’s about $30 an hour -- and work full time in order to afford a two-bedroom apartment and fair market rent."
And renters like Nadia Payne 11Alive spoke to agree with Biden’s proposal.
"They just need to cap it, or they should raise wages," she said. "If they’re going to up rent, they need to raise wages."
Biden’s proposal will not apply to new construction or properties involving substantial renovations. Those in opposition say a better solution would be to concentrate on building more housing.