3 weeks ago
More than 10 cardinal group are expected to sojourn nan US for nan World Cup this summer. However, wherever and really to accommodate these visitors has been a interest among residents and affordable lodging advocates successful big cities from Seattle to Atlanta.
Hotels stay under-booked successful America’s 11 big cities, while short-term rental listings successful immoderate cities person accrued by arsenic overmuch as 30% successful caller weeks. To incentivize homeowners and landlords to go hosts during nan World Cup, platforms specified arsenic Airbnb are offering a $750 sign-up bonus, pinch immoderate rental listings already reaching $6,000 a night. Advocates interest that an summation successful short-term listings will lead to a tighter rental marketplace and higher rents for residents successful big cities.
“May to August is erstwhile galore New Yorkers are negotiating their leases,” said Whitney Hu, head of civic engagement and investigation for Churches United for Fair Housing, a personnel of nan Tenants Not Tourists coalition. “If [New York’s] short-term rental regularisation was lifted, that’s an inducement for landlords to push tenants retired and rent their places retired for nan World Cup.”
Organizers specified arsenic Tenants Not Tourists and nan nationalist conjugation Dignity 2026 are preparing to protect residents successful big cities connected 2 fronts: renters from lodging instability and unhoused residents from being arrested. Together, they’re putting unit connected Fifa – nan governing assemblage of nan World Cup – and metropolis officials to put distant quality authorities plans and guarantee that tenants and unhoused group will not beryllium harmed.
“We’re utilizing this play starring up to nan arena to fortify networks, link resources and build momentum,” said Jennifer Li, a leader astatine Dignity 2026. “Right now, this is not a World Cup for nan people.”
Protecting residents from rising rents
Affordable lodging advocates person already seen immoderate wins. Late past year, Airbnb pushed to assistance New York City’s short-term rental restrictions for nan World Cup and Tenants Not Tourists pushed back, citing 2018 information from nan metropolis comptroller’s agency that approximately 9% of nan citywide summation successful rental rates could beryllium attributed to Airbnb’s presence.
Hundreds of New Yorkers, including national representatives, metropolis officials and argumentation experts, gathered astatine metropolis hallway to speak retired against nan bill. In nan end, nan metropolis assembly unopen it down. “I proceed to support nan position that I’ve had, which is that we person to guarantee that we let New York City’s homes to stay arsenic homes and not go hotels, and that we person hotels for precisely that purpose,” said Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s mayor.
But New York, pinch its short-term rental restrictions, whitethorn beryllium amended protected from lodging instability than different areas wherever nan World Cup is being played. For example, successful neighboring New Jersey, location is simply a loose patchwork of section laws governing short-term rental restrictions. Some New Jersey towns are imposing their ain bans up of nan World Cup, while others are seeing Airbnb listings astatine $1,000 a night.
Airbnb says nan US’s affordable lodging situation is caused by nan underproduction of caller housing, not short-term rentals. “Thirty-five per cent of residents surveyed successful big cities opportunity nan other income from hosting would thief them screen basal surviving expenses,” said Nathan Rotman, head of argumentation strategy successful North America for Airbnb.
After Fifa announced its World Cup schedule, Dignity 2026 called connected nan statement to place quality authorities risks. When asked astir its rollout of quality authorities plans, a Fifa spokesperson said big cities will merchandise drafts connected “a rolling basis. Fifa is supporting this process done ongoing engagement, method guidance and independent master input.” So far, only 4 retired of 16 North American big cities person made their plans public.
Since location is nary regularisation connected short-term rental companies successful Atlanta, conjugation members are search violations of tenants’ rights. Matthew Nursey, an organizing head pinch Housing Justice League, said he’s already seeing renters connected nan westbound broadside of Atlanta look lease non-renewals aliases having problem uncovering affordable housing. “This week, I had 2 group opportunity that their leases were not renewed,” Nursey said. “ They person a suspicion that it was truthful that their landlords tin rent their places retired during nan World Cup.”
Nursey said it’s historically been difficult for nan metropolis authorities to intervene successful backstage spot matters, including rent power aliases rent stabilization. Instead, organizers are kick-starting conversations pinch metropolis assembly members astir imaginable taxes connected short-term rentals. While that will not hap successful clip for nan World Cup, they dream to put a measurement connected nan ballot successful nan future.
Preventing unhoused residents from being jailed
This summertime will not beryllium Atlanta’s first clip hosting an world sporting event; nan metropolis hosted nan Olympics successful 1996. But immoderate residents retrieve nan arena for a very different reason: nan Atlanta City detention center, which became a jail for nan thousands of low-income unhoused Atlantans arrested successful an effort to purge them from nan streets starring up to nan Olympics.
“That jailhouse is nan lasting bequest of nan event. We don’t want history to repetition itself,” said Timothy Franzen, nan Atlanta economical justness programme head astatine nan American Friends Service Committee.
Franzen and different grassroots leaders are portion of Play Fair ATL, a conjugation launched successful September 2025 to reside housing, migration and labour authorities successful Atlanta during nan World Cup. Play Fair ATL questioned nan city’s “Downtown Rising” plan, which promised to location each nan group who were successful nan vicinity of nan venue.
“There’s a 1000 group successful nan spread betwixt lodging units disposable and nan number of unhoused,” Franzen said. “We’re asking metropolis leaders – what happens to nan group successful nan gap? Are you going to autobus group extracurricular nan city, aliases propulsion them successful nan metropolis jail, for illustration past time?”
When asked astir nan deficiency of lodging units, Atlanta City Council spokesperson referred nan Guardian to a database of city resources.
In Kansas City, section lodging justness organizers specified arsenic HouseKC are successful data-gathering mode earlier nan World Cup. Kansas City is constructing a $22m impermanent jailhouse facility pinch 100 beds before nan World Cup and organizers are concerned that unhoused organization members will beryllium detained there.
“The metropolis has ne'er hosted an arena this ample successful caller memory,” said Nehemiah Rosell, a leader astatine nan grassroots houseless defense group, nan Greater Kansas City Coalition to End Homelessness. “There is nary plan, nary concatenation of connection correct now. The group who extremity up successful that jailhouse will beryllium group who are ‘inconvenient’ for World Cup organizers and businesses.”
Rosell said that arsenic nan World Cup dates approach, Kansas City organizers are seeing a definitive uptick successful nan number of unhoused camps being swept adjacent nan stadium. “Sweeps are not only disruptive and traumatizing for group that are unhoused, but they besides make it overmuch harder for them to find lodging successful nan agelong word – they suffer belongings, they suffer connections to services, and it mightiness get put connected their records,” Rosell said.
When asked astir nan imaginable arrests of unhoused residents, Asia Jones, nationalist accusation serviceman astatine nan metropolis manager’s office, said: “The division’s encampment consequence strategy is rooted successful collaboration, bringing together aggregate partners to trim encampments, pinch rule enforcement arsenic conscionable 1 constituent of nan consequence strategy.”
In bid to way real-time information astir really nan World Cup is impacting unhoused people, HouseKC is launching a form called “Undocumenting Harms to Our Unhoused Neighbors” wherever group tin grounds encampment sweeps, arrests and fines starring up to and during nan event. They’re handing retired flyers pinch QR codes to organization members and lodging work providers. “We want to archive what’s happening – if things do hap during nan World Cup, we’ll person a grounds of it that we tin advocator from,” Rosell said.
In Atlanta past month, Play Fair ATL hosted a “People’s Cup” – a section shot tourney and outreach arena wherever organization members could motion up to correspond their countries. In summation to nan shot matches, section organizations were tabling to boost elector registration and walk accusation connected really nan World Cup mightiness impact migrant communities successful Atlanta.
“Big picture, what we’re trying to do is radiance a ray connected really overmuch nan World Cup is not really a community-oriented event,” said Michael Collins, nan head of Play Fair ATL. “The tickets are exorbitant, and we cognize we’re going to person ICE beingness astatine stadiums.”
Collins, who was wearing a Morocco jersey, was speedy to constituent retired that galore members of nan conjugation are large shot fans. “The World Cup arsenic a sporting arena is very exciting,” Collins said. “But we want it to beryllium done properly, not pinch encampment sweeps and putting group successful jail.”
