A new report on Memphis rental housing finds that nearly 9 in 10 surveyed renters experienced problems with their homes, from sewage issues and cockroach infestations to mold, water leaks and eviction threats. The findings, highlighted in a recent FOX13 Memphis investigation, paint a troubling picture of what tenants across Shelby County are up against when something goes wrong in their rented homes.
The report, titled “Haunted Housing 2025: The Reality of Being a Renter in Memphis,” was published by the Memphis Public Interest Law Center, which worked alongside Rhodes College's Research for Action Lab and Dragonfly Studio. The partners released the report in late 2025, drawing on structured phone interviews with former law center clients who had sought legal assistance between January 6, 2021, and July 24, 2025, according to Rhodes College.
According to the report, as detailed in FOX13 Memphis reporter Kate Bieri's investigation, 88 percent of surveyed local renters experienced problems with their homes, and most renters who reported problems said they faced at least three separate issues. Structural issues were reported by 71 percent of renters who reported problems, the report found. FOX13 separately documented unsafe housing conditions across Shelby County, including sewage issues, mold, pest infestations and structural problems, with some tenants also reporting eviction threats and difficulty recovering security deposits.
Repairs Rarely Follow Complaints
Perhaps the most striking figure from the report: among renters who reported problems to their landlords, only 8 percent said the issues actually got fixed. Rhodes College's summary of the research states that the top housing issues renters encountered were structural damage, heating and air conditioning failures, and plumbing problems, with mold following closely behind. The study concluded that poor housing conditions are a significant problem in Memphis and that renters, for the most part, are doing what the law requires of them — but repairs rarely follow.
Jamie Johnson, executive director of the Memphis Public Interest Law Center, played a significant role in editing and shaping the final report, per Rhodes College. Johnson told FOX13 that poor housing conditions rank as renters' biggest concern, with eviction close behind as the second-biggest issue facing tenants who contact her organization.
Law Center Can't Keep Up With Calls
The Memphis Public Interest Law Center provides free legal assistance to residents navigating housing disputes, but Johnson said her organization receives hundreds of calls each year from families seeking help — and still cannot meet the demand. She also told FOX13 that the organization is seeing an increasing number of disputes over returned security deposits, adding another layer of strain for renters already dealing with unresolved repair issues or eviction threats.
For renters dealing with mold specifically, Memphis Code Enforcement can investigate complaints and issue citations that turn into fines if landlords don't fix the problems, according to FOX13 Memphis's separate reporting on moldy apartments. Tennessee health guidance advises renters to put repair requests in writing and keep a copy for their records, though it does not recommend withholding rent over unresolved problems.
Evictions Concentrated at a Handful of Properties
The scale of eviction activity in Shelby County underscores why the issue weighs so heavily on renters. The 100 Memphis-area apartment complexes with the most eviction filings were responsible for nearly 10,000 filings in 2025 alone — around a third of the 27,658 evictions filed countywide that year, according to MLK50. Greenbrook at Shelby Farms alone filed eviction cases against 420 tenant households in 2025, the highest total of any property in the county, while University Gardens Manor and The Canopy 2200 each filed roughly 70 evictions for every 100 living units.
MLK50's analysis also found that more than two-thirds of the county's top 100 evicting properties are owned by out-of-state entities, with only 31 owned by entities with Tennessee addresses. Black renters bore a disproportionate share of the burden: about 81 percent of those who faced eviction in Memphis between April 2024 and April 2025 were Black, compared with 67 percent of all Memphis renters, per the outlet's reporting. Shelby County has logged roughly 27,000 eviction filings a year since 2016, a pace that has at times left a single General Sessions Civil Court judge handling more than 280 eviction cases in a single day, MLK50 has previously reported.
Johnson's Advice to Renters
Johnson encouraged renters dealing with landlord problems to seek free legal assistance and learn their rights rather than navigate disputes alone. She said stable housing supports stable neighborhoods and communities, and that renters should understand their rights and plan ahead for housing stability.
