Housing Crisis: Ossoff highlights renters’ woes in Metro Atlanta

On Monday morning, inside his Midtown office, Senator Jon Ossoff took a seat next to a pair of Georgia renters, Shana Brooks-Wilhite and Patrick Colson-Price. Along with bottles of water and folders full of rental documentation and speaking notes were small packs of Kleenex tissues. 

Ossoff recently launched an investigation into the number of out-of-town corporations that own homes in Georgia. The insinuation is that these corporations are contributing to the rising prices of homes in Georgia.

The average rent in Atlanta is $1,758, according to data from Rent Cafe. Zillow has that average around $1,900, with a year-over-year drop of $215. 

Those numbers can be even higher when renting a single-family home. The situation with landlords, many of whom do not have offices in metro Atlanta, can lead to a game of cat-and-mouse when repairs are needed or questions regarding the property need to be answered. 

Atlanta remains among the top 25 rental markets in the country. With much of metro Atlanta allowing renters to live in properties with yards and multiple floors due to suburban locations, it is harder to nail down the companies or corporations that own the properties.

Enter: Invitation Homes, a Sandy Springs-based leasing company. One of the tag lines on the company’s website reads: “That mortgage thing. Yeah, forget that!”

Both Brooks-Wilhite and Colson-Price spoke about how renting their homes in Smyrna and Stockbridge, respectively, has been difficult due to the lack of attention from their management company, Invitation Homes.

“Brooks-Wilhite, a United States Army veteran and mother, said she was told by a call center operator that there are “too many houses and not enough staff” to help her in an expedited manner.

According to Brooks-Wilhite, it took three weeks to have a gas leak fixed at her home. Atlanta Gas Light turned off the gas, and her family had to eat out during the time her stove was inoperable. 

Colson-Price shared a story of he and his husband having to watch over their puppies and older dogs more carefully because of the glass that was constantly found in their backyard. 

“Just imagine the danger if we had a young kid,” he said. 

Colson-Price said he and his husband are planning to move out of the home in June when their lease is up. He was at the press conference on Monday morning to ensure other families don’t have to go through the same difficulties in silence.

Along with Ossoff, Brooks-Wilhite, and Colson-Price, was Esther Graff-Radford, the owner of Graff-Radford Law, LLC, a Chamblee-based firm. Graff-Radford, who represents renters who have been slighted by landlords in metro Atlanta, said the landlords care more about money first and foremost.

“As landlords, these companies prioritize profits over my clients’ safety,” Graff-Radford said. “The cases that I work on deal with landlords’ unfair and deceptive business practices.” 

Ossoff took questions from the media after all parties took their turn at the lectern. He said the hope is that this attention will force better practices by the corporations that own the single-family homes around metro Atlanta.

The reality is that no crimes have taken place—just bad management. Nonetheless, Ossoff said his office has many more stories to share about bad or less-than-stellar single-family home management.

“I have been surprised by the volume of reports, complaints, and stories that Georgians are sending to my office since we opened the portal for submission,” Ossof said. “Let me invite the public to continue to weigh in.” 

Ossoff, who is also preparing for re-election in 2026, advises the public to visit his website, Ossoff.Senate.gov/homestory, in order to anonymously or on-the-record share their story. He said his staff has already interviewed more than 160 people about what they presumed was mistreatment by landlords. 

“Georgia families have reported to my office that they are being squeezed out of the housing market,” Ossoff said.