CSRA residents feeling the pain of huge rent hikes
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - The average rent is increasing faster than it has in over 40 years, including more than 21% in Augusta.
And residents in the CSRA are feeling the pain.
Renters say landlords are raising their rates by hundreds of dollars.
One resident of Lincolnton started out paying $500 when she first moved into her two-bedroom house. She’s now paying $850.
That $350 makes or breaks you, especially when you are on a fixed income.
“Our housing stock is very, very low on the affordable side,” said Bethany Trapp, program coordinator for the Marion Barnes Assessment and Referral Center for the Homeless.
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Derek Dugan, development director at the Salvation Army, said: “The most significant challenge right now is the percentage of the population that is at risk of homelessness.”
It’s a problem that never seems to go away.
“Imagine a paper bag full of water. It’s going to burst; there’s no way it can hold,” said Dugan. “That is the people at risk of being homeless.”
Places like the Salvation Army and the Marion Barnes Center, an extension of the CSRA Economic Opportunity Authority, see it all.
Trapp said: “The need is always going to outweigh the available funding, regardless of what community you go to, because the fact of the matter is that people are always in need. To give you a scenario, the average person who receives disability is receiving around $914 a month. There is literally no way that they can afford rent, utilities and food.”
According to the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the rent rate in Georgia has increased by 32.7% overall.
Duggan said: “The percentage of people that truly want that help is growing significantly and they just don’t know how to navigate the system and locate the affordable housing. That’s what we do.”
In addition to the 21% increase in rent in Augusta, Georgia’s other major cities are dealing with the problem, too.
According to census data, rent is up:
- 37.8% in metro Atlanta.
- 30.1% in Albany.
- 26.6% in Savannah.
- 19.4% in Macon.
- 9.1% in Columbus.
A two-bedroom is cheapest in Albany and will cost you more than $1,500 in metro Atlanta.
The challenge is not access to housing; the challenge is the accessibility of the pricing.
Is there a solution?
Some people are calling for state lawmakers to rent-control legislation to keep landlords from making large increases.
Jacon Dallas-Main is a part of the advocacy group Party for Socialism – pushing for rent control across the state.
Proposed legislation that was just filed – Senate Bill 125 – would change decades-old legislation that restricts local governments from regulating rent.
The bill is filed and ready for discussion at the start of the legislative session next week.
Savannah Solomon is one Georgia resident struggling with the problem.
She lost her husband two years ago, and then she lost their home after her landlord tried to raise her $1,375 monthly rent to $2,200.
“That’s a thousand dollars more than what I was already paying, and we were barely making that every month,” she said.
Solomon says rent is already too high for people like her and her family.
“You wouldn’t want it to be you, so just think of it as your mom, your dad,” she said.
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