Amid a national housing crisis, giant private equity firms have been buying up apartment buildings.

ProPublica ProPublica <[link removed]> Donate <[link removed]>

The Big Story
Mon. Feb 7, 2022

<[link removed]>

When Private Equity Becomes Your Landlord <[link removed]> Amid a national housing crisis, giant private equity firms have been buying up apartment buildings en masse to squeeze them for profit, with the help of government-backed Freddie Mac. Meanwhile, tenants say they’re the ones paying the price. by Heather Vogell

VIEW STORY <[link removed]>

Landlords Use Secret Algorithms to Screen Potential Tenants. Find Out What They’ve Said About You. <[link removed]> When you apply for housing, some screening companies plug your personal details into algorithms and rate you as a potential tenant. These scores can have a huge impact on your life when you’re trying to get approved for an apartment. by Erin Smith <[link removed]>

Have You Had Trouble Renting an Apartment and Don’t Understand Why? It Might Be Your Tenant Screening Score. <[link removed]> Did a tenant screening company, such as LeasingDesk, On-Site, Credco or RentGrow, send you a score or report? We want to understand their effect on tenants. by Erin Smith and Heather Vogell <[link removed]>

More From Our Newsroom

A Push to Remove LGBTQ Books in One County Could Signal Rising Partisanship on School Boards <[link removed]> A Texas county’s refusal to remove two books from the children’s section of the library sparked a yearslong political battle. Now school board races have taken on a deeply partisan tone, and elections serve as a purity test for far-right politics. by Jeremy Schwartz, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune <[link removed]>

Suicide Bomber Who Killed U.S. Troops and Afghans “Likely” Used Unguarded Route to Kabul Airport Gate <[link removed]> Paths left unsecured by U.S. military sped the evacuation of American citizens and Afghan allies. The attack killed 13 U.S. service members and scores of civilians. by Brian J. Conley, Mohammad J. Alizada, Samira Nuhzat, Abdul Ahad Poya and Mirzahussain Sadid, Alive in Afghanistan, Joshua Kaplan and Joaquin Sapien, ProPublica, and Lynzy Billing for ProPublica <[link removed]>

How the Sugar Industry Makes Political Friends and Influences Elections <[link removed]> A city commissioner race in Florida provides a window into how the sugar industry cultivates political allies, who help protect its interests. by Hannah Morse, The Palm Beach Post <[link removed]>

Reno Seeks to Purchase Motels as Affordable Housing Instead of Letting Developers Demolish Them <[link removed]> The mayor of Reno did little to stop the razing of motels that housed low-income residents or to replace lost units. Following a ProPublica investigation, that may change. by Anjeanette Damon <[link removed]>

A Police Car Hit a Kid on Halloween 2019. The NYPD Is Quashing a Move to Punish the Officer. <[link removed]> Civilian investigators found that officers engaged in serious misconduct, including hitting one boy with a car, pointing a gun at another and wrongly arresting three teens. Then the NYPD intervened. by Eric Umansky <[link removed]>

What Germany’s Effort to Leave Coal Behind Can Teach the U.S. <[link removed]> The German government agreed to a commitment to transition away from the fossil fuel for environmental reasons. But the obstacles are steep. by Alec MacGillis <[link removed]>

EPA Rejects Texas’ More Lenient Standard for Highly Toxic Air Pollutant <[link removed]> In the wake of an investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune into the widely used chemical ethylene oxide, the EPA has moved to reject a less protective standard crafted by Texas regulators and backed by the chemical industry. by Kiah Collier, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune, and Maya Miller, ProPublica <[link removed]>

Baker College Threatens Legal Action Against Former Teacher Who Talked to Reporters <[link removed]> Jacqueline Tessmer spoke out about students who left school without jobs or degrees, saying Baker “ruined” lives. And she’s not retracting her statements. by Anna Clark, ProPublica, and David Jesse, Detroit Free Press <[link removed]>

A Former Hacker’s Guide to Boosting Your Online Security <[link removed]> More stolen personal data is available online than ever before. A man who once ran a website that prosecutors called the Amazon of stolen identity information offers his tips on the best ways to protect your data. by Cezary Podkul <[link removed]>

Despite Decades of Hacking Attacks, Companies Leave Vast Amounts of Sensitive Data Unprotected <[link removed]> A surge in identity theft during the pandemic underscores how easy it has become to obtain people’s private data. As hackers are all too happy to explain, many of them are cashing in on it. by Cezary Podkul <[link removed]>

Find us on Facebook <[link removed]> Follow us on Twitter <[link removed]> Follow us on Instagram <[link removed]> Watch us on Youtube <[link removed]> Donate <[link removed]>

Get the ProPublica mobile app:
Download on the App Store <[link removed]> Get it on Google Play <[link removed]>
Was this email forwarded to you from a friend? Subscribe. <[link removed]> Want less email? Click here if you only want to receive one ProPublica newsletter each week. This email was sent to [email protected]. Update your email preferences or unsubscribe <[link removed]> to stop receiving this newsletter. Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. <[link removed]> ProPublica • 155 Ave of the Americas, 13th Floor • New York, NY 10013 <a href="[link removed]><img src="[link removed]" alt="" border="0" /></a>