If private equity is doing such damage to working and middle-class prospects for home ownership, why isn’t the government acting to even the playing field?

Higher rent. Faster evictions. Punitive fees. Shoddier repairs and services, if anyone even shows up at all. Even if your building isn’t owned by a private equity firm, their impact on the market is probably driving your rent up. When corporate landlords gobble up already-scarce homes, they shut out millions of people from being able to buy their own homes, preventing them from building financial stability and generational wealth.

In essence, it’s a direct transfer of wealth from the middle and working class into the pockets of private equity managers. If private equity is doing such damage to working and middle-class prospects for home ownership, why isn’t the government acting to even the playing field?

Private equity and hedge funds accounted for over $625 million in political spending during the runup to the 2020 election. About $547 million of the total went to campaign contributions. The rest went to lobbying.