Scandal-Plagued Contributors Shell Out $102.5 Million to Kill Rent Control and Silence AHF

Greedy corporate landlords and shady realtors funnel tens of millions into campaigns to stop rent control and get revenge on nonprofit championing it

Scandal-plagued contributors from the real estate industry have contributed a shocking $102.5 million so far to kill Proposition 33 and pass Proposition 34 in California. The controversial donors include Essex Property Trust and Equity Residential, two of the largest corporate landlords in the country that are both mired in the ongoing RealPage scandal, and the California Association of Realtors, which is the focus of a formal inquiry by the Department of Justice for possible anti-consumer violations. In addition, the National Association of Realtors, which has recently faced major scandals ranging from sexual harassment to illegally inflated real estate commissions, also has contributed to a No on Prop 33 committee.

Proposition 33, sponsored by AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) and now endorsed by more than 100 elected and formerly elected officials in California as well as more than 70 labor, senior, veteran, healthcare, and tenant groups, is just 23 words: "The state may not limit the right of any city, county, or city and county to maintain, enact or expand residential rent control.” Prop 33 also has the support of the California Democratic party, labor icon Dolores Huerta, and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders.

Corporate landlords want to stop Prop 33 so they can continue to charge sky-high rents, year after year, and rake in billions in revenue off hard-working California tenants.

Proposition 34, financed by the many of the largest corporate landlords in the nation, seeks to silence AHF’s housing advocacy work on rent control and other tenant protections. The San Francisco Chronicle called Prop 34 “cheap political gamesmanship that doesn’t belong on the ballot.” The San Diego Tribune called it a “vengeful attempt funded by landlords” that “sets a terrible precedent.” The Bakersfield Californian says Prop 34 is about “political rivalry.” The Mercury News calls it “Revenge of the Landlords.” And the LA Times describes Prop 34 as a “…murky, self-serving ballot measure,” adding “ [T]he misuse of the ballot … recently reached a … new low.”

The California Apartment Association Issues Committee funds both No on 33 - Californians for Responsible Housing sponsored by the California Apartment Association (No on 33) and Yes on 34 - Protect Patients Now sponsored by the California Apartment Association (Yes on 33).

In a kind of shell game, corporate landlords, such as Essex Property Trust and Equity Residential, have contributed millions in campaign cash to the California Apartment Association Issues Committee. The California Apartment Association, led by CEO Tom Bannon, then moves that corporate landlord money to No on 33 and Yes on 34.

To date, the California Apartment Association Issues Committee has raised $75,582,683, according to campaign filings at the California Secretary of State website.

Major contributors to that political action committee include Essex Property Trust, Equity Residential, Greystar, UDR, and Camden Property Trust. The corporate landlords are not only the largest in the country, but formed a cartel through a RealPage software program to wildly inflate rents in cities across the United States, impacting millions of tenants.

The Department of Justice and eight state attorneys general recently filed a high-profile lawsuit against RealPage, making headlines across the country. Also, RealPage, Essex Property Trust, Equity Residential, Greystar, UDR, and Camden Property Trust have faced local and state investigations and numerous antitrust laws by tenants.

In addition, No on 33 - Homeownership for Families sponsored by the California Association of Realtors has raised $27 million, according to campaign filings at the California Secretary of State website. The National Association of Realtors has contributed $5 million to that No on 33 committee. The California Association of Realtors, which also contributed $250,000 to Yes on 34, is led by President Melanie Barker.

The combined totals from No on 33 - Homeownership for Families sponsored by the California Association of Realtors and the California Apartment Association Issues Committees add up to $102,582,683.

Essex Property Trust and Equity Residential are the top two contributors to the California Apartment Association Issues Committee.

Essex Property Trust, based in San Mateo, California and helmed by President and CEO Angela Kleiman, is the thirteen largest corporate landlord in the U.S. and has shelled out $18,155,200. One of its top executives, John Eudy, sits on the California Apartment Association's board of directors. Essex Property Trust has the reputation for outrageously raising rents throughout California. Tenants in Fremont actually sued Essex for improperly increasing rents and allowing bad living conditions. The lawsuit was settled in 2016.

Equity Residential, headquartered in Chicago and led by CEO Mark Parrell, is the sixth largest corporate landlord in the country and has spent $13,086,400. One of its top executives, Barry Altshuler, sits on the California Apartment Association's board of directors. Equity LifeStyle Properties, a division that operates mobile-home communities, is known for excessively increasing rents on senior citizens. One activist group described it as "gouging Grandma."

In the end, the massive contributions show that Essex Property Trust and Equity Residential, two of the largest corporate landlords in the U.S., not only are leading the charge to kill rent control expansion in California but also to silence AHF, a global nonprofit that provides free HIV drug treatment to patients in South Africa, Cambodia, Mexico, India, the United States, and dozens of other countries and saves millions of lives around the globe.

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