Jan 9, 2026
If you rent your home from a corporation, you’re certainly not alone.
A report from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and the Center for Geospatial Solutions found that roughly 9% of residential land across the U.S. is under corporate ownership (1), illustrating how ownership of American land is changing as the housing crisis continues.
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The analysis found major discrepancies in corporate ownership of residential land across the country, with certain cities carrying a much larger percentage than others. For example, St. Louis has a corporate land ownership rate of roughly 21% overall, while King County in Seattle is at 4.7%. The report also notes that corporate landlords tend to charge above-market rates in less affluent neighborhoods.
Below, we break down why the findings of the report highlight a controversial — and growing — trend, and what you need to know if you’re considering renting from a corporate landlord.
Corporations and the housing crisis
As USA Today notes, corporate landlords are often blamed for the current state of the housing market, which has made it very difficult for many ordinary Americans to buy homes (2). The reason that corporations are buying up land is because of the high value of real estate and the potential for a strong return on investment.
Back in 2022, The New York Times reported on the trend of corporate buyers pushing individual owners out of residential neighborhoods (3), noting that “efforts to curtail the spread of corporate homeownership are slow going.” Meanwhile, a bill put forward in October 2022 that aimed to prevent private equity firms from capturing “all the rewards of their investments while insulating themselves from risk” was stalled.
But not everyone is critical of corporate land ownership in the U.S.
"It’s important to note that there is nothing inherently bad about investor ownership,” the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy report states. “For renters, and for communities as a whole, a responsible, responsive corporate owner is preferable to a negligent individual landlord."
While this may be true, there are several documented issues with corporate ownership of rental properties. First, the supply of new privately-owned housing units has been on the decline across the country since April 2022 (4). First-time homebuyers are also at an all-time low in the U.S. (5), which many see as the direct result of corporate investors buying up less-expensive homes in droves.
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Thirdly, many politicians across the political spectrum, from JD Vance to Kamala Harris, have condemned the excessive purchasing of residential land from corporations, as NPR notes (6). Corporate landlords, as the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy report revealed, are more likely to raise rents above the average price for the respective region, more likely to file eviction notices for tenants, and more likely to be cited for housing code violations.
"Low-income neighborhoods — and low-income neighborhoods of color, in particular — are being targeted for mass predatory purchasing," the report states.
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What lawmakers are doing about it
While the housing crisis is a bipartisan issue, efforts to curb corporate ownership of real estate have been piecemeal.
A variety of bills and proposals have been introduced at both the state and federal levels, but these actions have seen limited success and often face political challenges. For example, Governing.com reported in March 2025 that legislators in several states filed bills that propose to limit the number of single-family homes investors can purchase (7).
A number of bills were also introduced in 2023 and 2024 in response to a 2022 MetLife report that estimated more than 40% of single-family rental homes in the U.S. could be owned by corporate investors by 2030 (8).
What renters need to know
While policy changes may be slow to come, the reality is that a growing portion of American renters will likely be leasing their homes from investors and corporations. With this in mind, here’s what you need to know before deciding to rent from a corporation:
- Look into the REIT or corporate landlord that owns the rental property you’re considering and find out if they’ve been in the news or have a history of mistreating tenants
- Corporate landlords are often less flexible on lease terms, deposits and rent prices than private owners
- Corporate landlords may charge more for professional property management, or may be more likely to raise rents annually
- Corporate landlords are more likely to file eviction notices and have housing code violations, as the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy report noted
- While a private property owner may be more forgiving, corporate landlords are likely to be a lot less forgiving when it comes to credit history
Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy (1); USA Today (2); New York Times (3); Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (4); National Association of Realtors (5); NPR (6); Governing.com (7); Next City (8)
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Rebecca Holland is dedicated to creating clear, accessible advice for readers navigating the complexities of money management, investing and financial planning. Her work has been featured in respected publications including the Financial Post, The Globe & Mail, and the Edmonton Journal.
