Rental prices in the United States are high. According to rental data from Zillow, as reported by Anna Helhoski for NerdWallet, “Rent prices are now 30% higher than they were before the pandemic, but rental growth seems to have slowed from the major spikes of 2021. In March, rents were 3.6% higher than at the same time last year. The average growth in 2018 and 2019 was 4.1%.”
Although growth in rental prices has slowed, many renters have reported having difficulties with finding, or staying in, reasonably priced dwellings.
One renter said their landlord raised their rent by $100 per month; another said they were priced out of their apartment and their landlord would not negotiate the price, only to find their old apartment still on the market long after they had moved out. A further internet user alleged their landlord was not maintaining their building, possibly in an effort to get them to move out.
Now, another internet user has sparked a discussion after claiming they were priced out of a potential apartment after signing up to tour it just one week prior.
One week, $300 difference
TikTok user @honeymlktoast works at a nonprofit that assists in providing living spaces to unhoused people. However, that does not mean she’s immune from the machinations of the rental market, as she recently shared in a video with over 387,000 views.
According to the TikToker, she signed up to view an apartment around a week ago. However, by the time she actually made it to her scheduled viewing, she discovered something shocking.
“Between the time I signed up for that tour a week ago and the time I got there to do the tour today, the price of the unit I was interested in has gone up by $300. $300 in a week,” she says. “And I no longer qualify for the unit at all, because it went up by $300 in a week.”
This, she says, points to a larger issue in the current rental market.
“What are they gonna do when nobody can afford to live in their building? Because this place is also requiring three times the rent in income. I have a degree and a salaried job and I don’t make that,” she says. “There’s no reason why any person with a college degree and a salaried job should not be able to qualify for, like, a basic apartment—any basic apartment.”
The TikToker goes on to say that she’s seen many people who technically make enough money to be able to afford an apartment; however, strict income standards for rentals, and discrimination against those who have had a previous eviction, have prevented them from actually doing so.
“I have a client that brings in $4,000 a month and is homeless. They bring in $4,000 a month through their job and they are homeless because of the price of these apartments, because of the income requirements,” she states.
Later, she adds, “Some of these people have evictions. I don’t give a f*** what you think about evictions. You can have an eviction from six years ago. Good f***ing luck. You’re homeless. You’re homeless because you got evicted once six years ago because you lost your job.”
As the video progresses, she says that organizations like hers spend a considerable amount of money providing housing for the unhoused. The cheaper solution, she states, is simply ensuring that rental prices are lower so that people can afford housing.
“It would be so much cheaper for everyone, less of a burden on everyone if rent was just affordable,” she says. “Like, there’s literally no downside to making rent something that people can afford. There’s no reason I should have a homeless family in my care that’s bringing in $4,000 a month.”
Is Affordable Housing the answer?
Time and time again, studies have found that providing or heavily subsidizing housing for the unhoused is financially and personally beneficial.
For example, a 2021 study from Elior Cohen at UCLA found that “targeted housing assistance to people experiencing homelessness reduces crime, increases employment, and improves health.”
A 2017 study out of Australia commissioned by the University of Melbourne’s Sustainable Society Institute achieved similar results.
“We found that governments and society benefit more than they spend by providing last resort housing to homeless individuals,” explained SGS Director Ellen Witte, the lead author of the report. “This is mainly through reduced healthcare costs, reduced crime, and people getting back into employment or education.
Furthermore, a 2014 study “of an apartment complex for formerly homeless people in Charlotte, N.C….found drastic savings on health care costs and incarceration,” per HuffPost.
“It’s cheaper to give homeless people homes to live in than to let the homeless live on the streets and try to deal with the subsequent problems,” summarized Matthew Yglesias for Vox in 2019.
@honeymlktoast For everyone asking how they can find these resources in their own state please stay tuned, im making a separate video to explain in detail! The state of housing right now is insane and something needs to be done about it.#housingmarket #housingcrisis #housing #apartment #apartmenttour #landlord #landlords ♬ original sound – honeymlktoast
Viewers weigh in
In the comments section, users shared their opinions on the high price of housing.
“There needs to be rent caps!!!” exclaimed a user.
“We make well over 9k a month and live in Florida my rent ALONE is 2k. Not including water, sewer, trash, parking, storage, pet rent, etc. Its INSANE,” stated another. “We need to revolt literally we are slaves.”
“AND AND AND as a girlie in construction, I am soooo sick that my industry keeps building luxury apartments in the face of this housing crisis,” shared a third.
“My daughter rents an apartment and her rent is DOUBLE my mortgage payment,” offered a further TikToker.
The Daily Dot reached out to @honeymlktoast via TikTok direct message.
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