Atlanta Built One of the Biggest Apartment Booms in Its History. Renters Who Can Pay Are Still Turned Away

With metro vacancy at 10.9%, the problem isn't supply. It's who gets approved.

ATLANTA, Nov. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Apartment vacancy across the Atlanta metro remains well above its long-term average after one of the largest building booms in its history, yet renters who can afford those homes are still being told no. Cosign, a mission-driven housing access company founded by a team with decades of experience owning, operating and leasing apartments, is now working with property managers across the metro and around the country to change that.

According to CoStar, about 90,000 apartments have been delivered across the Atlanta metro over the past five years, and more than 15,000 of those newly completed units remain vacant. Metro vacancy stands at 10.9%, above the national average of 7.9%, and more than half of apartment communities are offering some form of concession to attract residents. The homes are built and getting more affordable, yet screening rules built around a single credit score keep good applicants from signing.

Behind those numbers are renters across the metro, from Gwinnett and Cherokee counties to South Fulton: a nurse in her first year on the job, a recent graduate starting a career, a mother rebuilding her credit after a divorce, a newcomer with steady work and no U.S. credit history. They can afford the rent. On paper, they don't qualify, and most of them don't have a parent who can sign for them.

At RAM Partners, the leasing team has seen the difference firsthand. "Partnering with Cosign has made a huge difference for our leasing team and applicants," said Joanne Aviles, area vice president at RAM Partners. "It allows us to help qualified renters move into Haven quickly and seamlessly, turning what could have been a barrier into an easy approval process."

Co-founder and CEO Zach Schofel knows that wall from the other side of the leasing desk. Before founding Cosign, he built Eastman Residential, which has acquired and developed more than 3,000 apartment units across the country, and watched his own leasing teams turn away applicants they knew would pay. So he built something better with individuals who had lived the problem: his brother Jacob, an engineer who scaled technology at a publicly traded company; co-founder Phillip Newsom, who built property management companies from the ground up; and a team that includes former leasing agents and renters who once struggled to qualify themselves.

For renters who don't have a parent or family member who can cosign, Cosign steps in and signs the lease as their cosigner. Rather than letting a single credit score decide, the company uses a dynamic, data-driven approach to approvals. As part of its mission driven principal, residents who fall behind are never sent to collections by Cosign. Now working with property managers across more than 800,000 apartment units nationwide, Cosign opens more doors for recent graduates, independent workers, immigrants, Americans rebuilding after a setback, and others overlooked by traditional screening.

"Everyone talks about building more housing, and the Atlanta metro did. The apartments are here, and the renters can afford them," said Zach Schofel, co-founder and CEO of Cosign. "What's missing is a fair way to say yes, and what's happening in Atlanta is happening in metros across the country."

For more information, visit www.rentwithcosign.com. 

About Cosign: Cosign is a mission-driven housing access company that helps renters who can afford the rent get approved for the homes they want. When a renter doesn't have a family member who can cosign, Cosign signs the lease as their cosigner, using a dynamic, data-driven approach to approvals. Founded by a team with decades of experience owning, operating and leasing apartments, Cosign works with property managers on more than 800,000 apartment units in metros across the country to open doors for teachers, nurses, hourly workers, recent graduates, immigrants and everyone else traditional screening overlooks. Learn more at www.rentwithcosign.com. 

SOURCE Cosign