It’s no secret that for both renters and purchasers in rural communities and cities, many people are struggling with affordable housing. This has been a problem many hard working Virginians have been navigating since even before the pandemic. With housing prices on the rise in Virginia, and low-income Virginians struggling to pay for housing, you would think a candidate for Governor would have a plan. But Republican Glenn Youngkin has no plan for addressing the affordable housing crisis.  

People in our community already struggling to pay for quality housing struggled even more during the pandemic. Glenn Youngkin’s record while with The Carlyle Group reveals that if elected governor, he will put profits over people and capitalize on the housing crisis many Virginians are facing. 

While Glenn Youngkin was at The Carlyle Group, the private equity firm purchased a mobile home community in 2015. The business model for this purchase was simple: buy mobile home parks, increase rents and fees, and capitalize on the fact that moving would be too dangerous or expensive for residents. Glenn Youngkin and The Carlyle Group prioritized financial gain and made living incredibly difficult for the hard working residents of the mobile home community. One resident went as far as to say that Carlyle’s ownership of the mobile home park had been a “dark cloud,” due to the $75 increase of monthly rent, which is “a lot of money for people in our community.” The Carlyle Group claims to have made over $100,000 worth of improvements to the mobile home community, however, these claims seem to be baseless, as residents have not seen the benefits. 

“With a net worth of over $4000 million, Glenn Youngkin is out of touch with the struggles of hardworking families in our community. We need a Governor who is aware of the housing struggle residents across Virginia face,” Vanessa Clinton, Press Secretary at Progress Virginia, said. “If history is any indication, Glenn Youngkin will exploit hard working people as they struggle to keep a roof over their heads if he is elected Governor. He certainly has no plans to expand the supply of moderately priced housing or increase funds for housing vouchers to low-income renters. Without a plan to address the issues that people in our community face, we can’t afford a Governor like Glenn Youngkin.” 

Background:

• A 2019 report on private equity companies shows the Carlyle Group invested in mobile home parks  and made a profit from increasing rent and fees. 
• The Carlyle Group implemented 7-8% rent increases, more than double the rent increases residents had seen previously and matching the 7-8% return residents heard Carlyle had promised investors. 
• Residents also faced doubling lot fees for new residents, making it more difficult for homeowners who need to move to sell their homes.
• At the same time, Carlyle told residents they had made over $100,000 in improvements, but residents haven’t seen the benefits.
• Housing prices have risen more than 10% in some areas over the past year.