New class of ‘vanlords’ as Californians increasingly live in RVs as housing costs surge

 Thousands of Bay Area residents trading in their house keys for car keys — and unscrupulous “vanlords” are taking advantage.

The concentration of Californians living in RVs has spiked, according to a CNBC report, and even full-time workers have joined the growing cohort.

New demand has led to vehicles being shelled out as unregulated rental properties, much to the concern of local officials.

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An exploitative “shadow rental market” is crowding public streets.Ringo Chiu

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The state’s housing crisis has spiked rents and out-of-state moves.Sundry Photography – stock.adobe.com

Residents have plenty of reasons to opt for turning their vehicles into makeshift homes. A recent report on the state’s housing crisis revealed that a whopping 30.4% of Golden State listings were priced at more than $1 million. Untenable costs have led to an ongoing population decline.

For those without any other housing options, the state’s number of emergency shelter beds is woefully inadequate to meet demand, CNBC reported.

Despite Gov. Gavin Newsom boasting a 9% decline in homelessness in January, California residents and local businesses have reported feeling “held hostage” by rampant tent and vehicle encampments in their communities. 

Federal housing data suggests the state hosts a quarter of the country’s homeless population.

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More than 30% of homes for sale are priced at more than $1 million.travelview – stock.adobe.com

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Legal RV lots now pose a possible housing strategy for the state’s least affordable regions.CNBC

In response to the tight housing market, an exploitative “shadow rental market,” has arrived in the Bay Area, CNBC reported. Locals taking advantage of the crisis have turned a profit as “vanlords,” renting out their shoddy, old RVs for hundreds of dollars. 

These unofficial rentals are not backed by written leases or tenant protection laws, leaving residents with few choices in a vulnerable spot.

One such renter told CNBC they and a friend have spent $500 per month to rent a publicly parked RV in San Francisco for the past year. The manager of a legal RV park said their site has evolved from serving tourists to long-term residents.

San Francisco has ramped up parking enforcement in response to the off-the-books market, and legislation to ban the practice in San Jose is in the works.

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In an effort to clean up streets and promote paths to permanent housing, city governments are establishing safe parking sites.Ringo Chiu

San Jose has also made headway with a creative alternative to the shadow market, called a “safe parking site.” The city’s two grant-funded sites offer a total of 128 parking spots that are temporary and rent-free.

The newest location, an 86-spot site located between industrial plants, offers showers, laundry facilities and an office of case workers to residents. The waitlist is full.

The number of homeless Santa Clara County residents sleeping in cars more than doubled since the pandemic, CNBC reported, citing county data. The figure rose from 18% in 2019 up to 37% in 2025. The area is home to Silicon Valley and eight of the country’s 50 priciest ZIP codes. 

A similar safe site project in San Fransisco was previously shuttered. City officials there suggested to CNBC that official RV parks should be reconsidered as a regional housing strategy.

https://nypost.com/2026/02/20/real-estate/calfornians-are-increasingly-living-in-rvs-as-costs-soar/

NYC landlords slam Mamdani’s threatened property tax hike: ‘Final nail in the coffin’

 Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s proposed property tax hike will put the squeeze on small building owners — and could even be the “nail in the coffin” for the city’s rent-stabilized market, critics warned.

Small Property Owners of New York, a nonprofit advocacy group, expressed grave concern about Mamdani’s Tuesday warning that he’ll be “forced” to raise city property taxes a whopping 9.5% to balance the Big Apple budget.

“You’ve heard a lot about billionaires leaving New York City, but nobody talks about the fact that the administration is going to squeeze small property owners in neighborhoods of color out of the city altogether and out of the real estate market,” said SPONY member Jen Lee, a landlord who owns two rent-stabilized tenement buildings in Chinatown. 

He argued that Mamdani’s proposed hike — framed as a “last resort” if Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature don’t boost taxes on millionaires — will make it impossible for small landlords to afford maintenance on old buildings, forcing them to sell to banks or developers.

“You tell me how I am supposed to provide safe, affordable housing for my community, which is overwhelmingly people of color,” Lee said.

Christopher Athineos, whose family has owned about 100 apartment units in Bay Ridge for five decades, worried what would happen to his longtime tenants if he were to be forced to sell his properties to a major developer or corporation. 

“When I can’t maintain the building in the manner in which I’m used to maintaining it in the manner in which my tenants expected it to be maintained, that’s painful for me,” Athineos told The Post. 

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There are approximately one million rent-stabilized units in New York City.Helayne Seidman

“You know if I sold my building like the person that’s coming in is not going to be running it  the way I’m running it. They’re gonna be worrying about paying their mortgage first,” he said. 

Mamdani’s plan includes some frightening prospects: a nearly 22% tax for residential homes and townhouses or buildings with just three or fewer units, more than 13.6% for larger apartment buildings and a nearly 12% tax for commercial properties like storefronts or office buildings.

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The whopping 9.5% increase in property taxes aims to balance the city budget.Christopher Athineo

If it passes, for instance, the owner of an Upper West Side condominium currently assessed at $120,000 would go from paying $14,926 to $16,345 in annual property tax.

Landlords’ concerns only grew on Wednesday, when Hizzoner announced six new appointees to the rent guidelines board, which sets rent rates for the city’s nearly one million rent-stabilized apartments.

A cornerstone of Mamdani’s campaign was his promise to “freeze the rent” on those units.

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Landlords’ concerns across the Big Apple have grown as Hizzoner announced six new appointees to the rent guidelines board.Christopher Athineo

“He now wields the sledge hammer to enact a rent freeze on rent-stabilized apartments. This will drive the final nail in the coffin of mom-and-pop, generational, immigrant small property owners, and along with it, the city’s affordable housing infrastructure,” said SPONY’s board president Ann Korchak.

Korchak has long been warning of the risks of Mamdani’s tenant-centered policies, arguing they will ultimately drive small landlords to bankruptcy and pave the way for socialized housing, a policy that the head of the Mayor’s Office of Tenant Protection, Cea Weaver, has notoriously championed.

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One of Mamdani’s striking points during his campaign was to “freeze the rent” on rent-stabilized apartments.Christopher Athineo

Weaver, who was appointed to the new post in January, previously called to abolish private property.

Now, her office is holding a series of “rental ripoff hearings” encouraging tenants to air grievances against their landlords — though public housing tenants of NYCHA are not able to attend.

A spokesperson for Mamdani did not respond to The Post’s request for comments. 

https://nypost.com/2026/02/20/us-news/nyc-landlords-slam-mamdanis-threatened-property-tax-hike/