U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) speaks with Adamsville residents after a press conference in the southwest Atlanta neighborhood on Monday, July 13, 2026. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)
ATLANTA — U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock met with other Democratic officials, including Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, in front of a corporate-owned house in southwest Atlanta Monday to celebrate a new federal law that seeks to give renters more hope in their quest to own a home.
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act became law at midnight Friday without the signature of President Donald Trump, who was protesting the lack of action on an unrelated bill.
The new law offers incentives to local communities to encourage more construction, and it caps corporate ownership of rental housing, which became an issue after the Great Recession.
Workers cannot compete with Wall Street when buying a home, Warnock said, speaking in the middle of a temporarily closed Adamsville Drive in front of a corporate-owned house.
“They will outbid you every time. So, this is about fairness,” Warnock said, adding that Atlanta is “ground zero for private equity’s domination of the housing market.”
The house behind Warnock, which he said should be owned by a person rather than a corporation, is listed in Fulton County property records as belonging to a company in Scottsdale, Ariz. DeKalb County property records have that same company sharing a mailing address with Invitation Homes.
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens hold a press conference in southwest Atlanta on Monday, July 13, 2026, condemning private equity firms’ ownership of homes and highlighting the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which became law over the weekend. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)
Invitation Homes was the subject of criticism last summer by another Democrat, U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, who staged an event at his Atlanta headquarters so renters could complain about conditions at the company’s properties.
One renter described dangerous debris in his backyard that injured one of his dogs. Another complained about gas leaks at her home.
“We’re not humans to them. We’re dollar signs,” she said. “I felt completely worthless and small.”
An Invitation Homes spokesperson told Capitol Beat at the time that it had over 200 associates in the state to address such problems. The spokesperson did not address the specific complaints of the two renters.
Warnock said such large private equity investors own a quarter of the single-family rental homes in Atlanta.
That figure is confirmed by other reports. While Atlanta is an epicenter of the phenomenon, corporations own a far less significant share of all houses. Corporate rental stock comprises 3% of all Atlanta single-family houses, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts, which has produced numerous reports about the housing crisis.
Pew has concluded that the most significant solution is to build a lot more houses.
Warnock noted that home construction is encouraged by the new law, which he helped to shape with amendments.
The law changes federal housing grant formulas in a way that incentivizes communities to allow denser development, with faster permitting.
Dickens said it will encourage developers to build more starter homes while encouraging zoning that allows for more duplexes, townhouses and multifamily housing.
“This is just enabling us to get more out of the land,” he said, speaking with City Councilmember Andrea Boone, who represents the area.
Warnock called the new law a necessary first step. He praised the bipartisan collaboration that led to it, saying that is the only way to make lasting change.
He also noted the enormity of the challenge ahead, with analysts estimating a shortage of 4 million to 5 million houses in America.
“This is an important step today in the right direction,” Warnock said. “But this is not the end. There’s more legislation that we need to do. We have a real housing affordability crisis in this country.”
This story was provided by WABE media partner Capitol Beat.
