Despite the government providing relief to tenants during the height of the Pandemic with price reductions and months of free rent, these concessions didn’t stop the fact that this year alone, the national median rent has increased by an astonishing 11.4%, according to a report by Apartment List, a rental listing site. In the pre-pandemic years from 2017 to 2019, rent growth from January to July averaged only 3.3%. 

In 2020, many people left cities and moved in with family members, but that’s all reversing now as the Pandemic is winding down and government programs are expiring, leading landlords to now hike up prices as housing demand spikes. However, wages are not keeping pace with the rising cost, compounding the financial strain. Although rents in many places dropped in 2020, tenants were also more likely than homeowners to lose their jobs or have their hours cut throughout the year, meaning many cannot easily pay more for rent now. 

This tight housing market, defined by a lack of inventory and double-digit price growth in metro areas, is shutting out millennials from homeownership, specifically those between the ages of 27-33, who are in their prime home-buying years. This increased rent is making it harder for them to save up money, but since they are about 32.5 million strong and make up the biggest demographic patch ever recorded, prices will continue to go up with the growing demand. Not everyone can buy a house, but everyone needs shelter.

There are no easy individual solutions to combating these issues, but one thing tenants can do is learn their rights. Some local governments mitigate how much notice a landlord must give renters of a rate increase, for example. The more you know, the better prepared you can be to find a better deal. Additionally, as remote work becomes more popular, you may now have the option to relocate to a place where housing costs aren’t rising as much.

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