Rent increases across Tampa Bay this year are shattering records. As of August 2021, rents for apartments have increased by 21.7 percent, according to data from CoStar Group, a real estate data firm. Worse of all there is no sign of a slow down on the horizon. Prior to 2021 the record growth for rent in the Tampa Bay area was a mere 6.2 percent. To afford a two bedroom rental in Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Hernando you will need to make 24.44 per hour, or work 2.8 minimum wage jobs. Moreover, this means most Tampa Bay renters must dedicate significantly more than a third of their income to rent which leaves nothing for spending, saving, or wealth building. This puts families and the overall economy in a bad position. Studies have also show that the burdens of these high costs are falling disproportionately on people of color as they are more likely to have low wage jobs. While landlords may see this as good news in the short term, in the long term this doesn't bode well for private landlords as the markets are being overrun by corporate landlords and hedge funds who are buying at such high rates they are making the purchase of investment properties unaffordable. Another consequence of rising inequity is that tent cities and make shift RV parks on the streets could be right around the corner for Tampa Bay.