---
title: "6 Rent Quotes By Matthew Desmond"
description: "6 Rent quotes by Matthew Desmond. Plus more from Matthew Desmond and more Rent sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c23/matthew-desmond-1529_becomes_if-you-have-someone-who-is-paying-88-per_1126703.jpg"
---

> [If you have someone who is paying 88 percent of her income on rent, and we have laws that allow a landlord…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/if-you-have-someone-who-is-paying-88-percent-of-her-income-on-rent/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c23/matthew-desmond-1529_becomes_if-you-have-someone-who-is-paying-88-per_1126703.jpg)

> [Without the ability to plant roots and invest in your community or your school - because you're paying 60, 70, 80 percent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/without-the-ability-to-plant-roots-and-invest-in-your-community-or/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/matthew-desmond-1529_ability_without-the-ability-to-plant-roots-and-i_1211821.jpg)

> [“The rent eats first.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/the-rent-eats-first/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b2/matthew-desmond-1529_social-justice_the-rent-eats-first-1263942_1263942.jpg)

> [When you meet people who are spending 70, 80 percent of their income on rent, eviction becomes much more of an inevitability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/when-you-meet-people-who-are-spending-70-80-percent-of-their-income/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/901/matthew-desmond-1529_becomes_when-you-meet-people-who-are-spending-70_1454173.jpg)

> [Most poor families are living completely unassisted in a private rental market, devoting most of their income to housing. When you meet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/most-poor-families-are-living-completely-unassisted-in-a-private/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcf/matthew-desmond-1529_eviction_most-poor-families-are-living-completely_2545102.jpg)

> [You can get out of maintaining property at code if the family is behind on rent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/you-can-get-out-of-maintaining-property-at-code-if-the-family-is/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cd/matthew-desmond-1529_behind_you-can-get-out-of-maintaining-property_2550004.jpg)

## Other authors on Rent

- [Mokokoma Mokhonoana 11 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rent/mokokoma-mokhonoana/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b011/author-idina-menzel-43088.jpg) Idina Menzel 8 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rent/idina-menzel/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b006/author-carole-maso-21281.jpg) Jonathan Larson 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rent/jonathan-larson/)

## More by Matthew Desmond

> [I don't think we can fix poverty without fixing housing, and I don't think we can address housing without understanding landlords.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/i-don-t-think-we-can-fix-poverty-without-fixing-housing-and-i-don-t/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [If we continue to tolerate this level of poverty in our cities, and go along with eviction as commonplace in poor neighborhoods, it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/if-we-continue-to-tolerate-this-level-of-poverty-in-our-cities-and-go/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [You see one eviction, and you're overcome, but then there's another one and another one and another one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/you-see-one-eviction-and-you-re-overcome-but-then-there-s-another-one/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [When I talk to booksellers, they tell me how hard it is to hand-sell some of my books because I do keep popping around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/when-i-talk-to-booksellers-they-tell-me-how-hard-it-is-to-hand-sell/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [Housing being a top-order issue for cities is something that's not trivial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/housing-being-a-top-order-issue-for-cities-is-something-that-s-not/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [I think that we value fairness in this country. We value equal opportunity. Without a stable home, those ideals really fall apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/i-think-that-we-value-fairness-in-this-country-we-value-equal/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [Exploitation. Now, there's a word that has been scrubbed out of the poverty debate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/exploitation-now-there-s-a-word-that-has-been-scrubbed-out-of-the/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [I think there are ways that graduate students can fact-check their work. I think there are ways that we can do this that don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/i-think-there-are-ways-that-graduate-students-can-fact-check-their/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [Fire itself is very beautiful, and there's an attachment to fire that firefighters have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/fire-itself-is-very-beautiful-and-there-s-an-attachment-to-fire-that/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [“Sherrena nodded reassuringly and said, almost to herself, “I guess I got to stop feeling sorry for these people because nobody is feeling sorry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/sherrena-nodded-reassuringly-and-said-almost-to-herself-i-guess-i-got/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [Everywhere else, we are someone else, but at home, we remove our masks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/everywhere-else-we-are-someone-else-but-at-home-we-remove-our-masks/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [A community that sees so clearly its own disadvantage or its own hardships also has a harder time seeing its potential: its ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/a-community-that-sees-so-clearly-its-own-disadvantage-or-its-own/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [“It was once said that the poor are 'constantly exposed to evidence of their own irrelevance.' Especially for poor African-American families - who live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/it-was-once-said-that-the-poor-are-constantly-exposed-to-evidence-of/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [A universal voucher program would change the face of poverty in this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/a-universal-voucher-program-would-change-the-face-of-poverty-in-this/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

> [“Wildland firefighters do not enjoy the cultural prestige that structural firefighters do. They do not wax their fire engines and cruise down the local…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/wildland-firefighters-do-not-enjoy-the-cultural-prestige-that/)

[Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/)

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