LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Soaring home prices and rising rents.
Renters are being hit especially hard.
A landlord explains why prices are going up.
Amanda Barger was evicted earlier this year after she was unable to pay her rising rent at her mobile home.
Barbara Hill Kelley's rent was raised over $100 a month.
Stories like this can make landlords look like the boogeyman.
But several say it's been a difficult year with rising water bills and property taxes and tenants missing payments.
Deborah Collins manages 25 apartments and rental homes.
She says many landlords lost income last year.
The eviction moratorium meant they had to allow tenants to go months without paying rent, says Collins.
Deborah says most landlords are just trying to make themselves whole again and are not price gouging.
Of course, that's little consolation to people like Barbara who are struggling to accept a rent hike that could force her to move.
