Contents  3

Executive Summary 4

Introduction 7
Housing Data Points. 8
Drivers of the Housing Crisis  9

I. The Billionaire Blowback on Housing 16
Hidden Wealth Moving into the U.S. Housing Market, Fueling Vacancy alongside Homelessness 16
Multiple Property Acquisitions by the Wealthy 18
Expansion of Short-Term Rentals, such as AirBnB, and the Rise of Mega-Investors in These Corporations 18
Rise of Corporate Landlords and Investor-Owners 19
For-Profit Investors Expanding Control of Affordable Housing 21
Billionaires Buying Mobile Home Parks 22

II. Addressing Billionaire Blowback by Expanding the Social Housing Sector 24
What is Social Housing? 24
The Failure of Current Housing Policies to Produce Affordable Housing 25
U.S. Social Housing: Starting with Quality Public Housing 26
Rethinking Government Subsidies and Requiring Permanent Affordability 27
Bringing Community Land Trusts to Scale 28
Social Housing in Europe 29

III. Policies to Reduce Billionaire Disruption, Protect Tenants, and Expand Social Housing 30
1. Protect Tenants from Billionaire Disruption 30
2. Regulating and Banning Corporate Ownership 32
3. Tax Billionaires and Luxury Real Estate to Generate Revenue for Social Housing 35
4. Expand Social Housing 37
Federal and Community-Based Policies to Support Social Housing 39

Conclusion 46

Resources 47

Endnotes 49