Lawmakers say mega-landlords are buying up the American dream — and leaving renters like this Florida woman struggling to keep up with rising rents and locked out of the housing market

“You can’t cook, you can’t do laundry. The floors are sticky. It’s hotter in the house than it is outside,” Jove told News4JAX. Mold and a hole in the wall left unpatched for “three or four years” have only added to the frustration.

“We started off at a fair price and ended up paying far too much,” Jove said. “It has impacted our ability to actually get out and buy a house.”

‘It’s been a very, very long road’

Jove rents from Invitation Homes, one of the country’s biggest players in the single-family rental market. The real estate giant owns over 80,000 properties nationwide, hundreds in Northeast Florida alone, and is now at the center of an inquiry led by Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff.

Launched in May, Ossoff’s investigation also includes other corporate landlords – Main Street Renewal, Tricon Residential, and Progress Residential – that he says are inflating rental markets, outbidding families, and locking out would-be homeowners in Georgia.

His office told News4JAX it has already interviewed more than 160 witnesses, including renters, realtors, policy experts and local officials.

“More and more Georgians who are renting instead of buying are facing mistreatment or abusive practices by corporate landlords,” Ossoff said at a press conference. “Since 2009, public reports and research have identified an increase across the country in large national firms buying up single-family homes in bulk to convert them into rental properties.”

Jove’s experience in Florida mirrors what Ossoff describes happening across the U.S.. And while her family is finally preparing to purchase a home, she says the rising rent delayed their dream for years.

“It’s been a very, very long road,” Jove said.

News4JAX reached out to Invitation Homes for comment on Jove’s experience and the Senate investigation. A company spokesperson issued the following statement:

“It is always our intent to provide high-quality homes and a professional leasing and property management experience for our residents. We remain in contact with Ms. Jove after installing a new HVAC system in her home earlier this month.”

Is Wall Street buying the American dream?

In cities from Jacksonville to Atlanta, and across Sun Belt suburbs, Wall Street-backed landlords are rapidly changing what it means to rent or buy a home in America. Since the 2007-2009 financial crisis, big investment firms have snapped up single-family homes, turning the nation's neighborhoods into rental portfolios.

Mega-landlords, or those with at least 1,000 properties, own 3% of the 15.1 million total single-family properties available for rent nationwide, according to a study by the Urban Institute.

These properties are concentrated in certain areas. Six cities — Atlanta, Phoenix, Dallas, Charlotte, Houston, and Tampa — together contain 45% of these mega-operators’ total holdings.