and police on the scene currently checking the cafe for any remains of explosives. they sent in a robot to check whether anything has been left lined before they declare the scene clear. if you're just joining us ea here on al jazeera, we're reporting on its hostage situation in sydney, australia.

>> a short time ago heavily armed police stormed the cafe after around 16 hours of the hostage situation. stun grenades were thrown in to the building. lots of gunfire, lots of gunshots and as you can see hostages were removed in some cases with help from the cafe. a little earlier than this several hostages came running out, running down the road shortly before the gunfire started. we're being told that there could be two series injuries. we have no more information than that. they could be gunshot wounds and as yet no information on the hostage taker, no information as to whether he is injured or what his condition is. these are live pictures that

we're getting now. you can see a police rescue vehicle to the left of your screen, a paramedic to your right. another stretcher, clearly some of the hostages in need of medical treatment. let's go to andrew thomas in sydney, and who has been following the hostage situation throughout the day. andrew, a dramatic end to a long police operation. >> 16 hours the siege has been under way. it began at 9:45 in the morning as people went in to get their coffees, it went right through monday through in to the night. it's now just gone 3:00 in the morning sydney time. it was just after 2:00 that we heard a series of explosions then what sonned like very rapid gunfire coming from martin place square where that cafe is, 150 meters behind me on the left-hand side. you can see another police vehicle going on right now.

a series of ambulances in the last 15, 20 minutes or so. too new south wales police. the local police force here in sydney has said in the last ten minutes officially that the seen is over. we also ask them to confirm that the man that many in the media is saying was the hostage taker, a man haron monis, the police have not confirmed that name but they also said that you're not wrong. he was convicted of sending hateful messages, letters to families of australian soldiers who had been killed in afghanistan. more recently he has been charged with being an accessory for the murder of his ex-wife. he has also been charged with sexual offenses that date back more than ten years.

we aren't sure it's him, but the new south wales police, when we put that name to them, man haron monis, it's not an incorrect name. >> it was not clear how hostages were released, a short while before the final cafe we saw more hostages coming through the door. >> let me give a quick run down of the events as we understand them. the siege began at 9:45. it was peak time. we don't know how many hostages were taken at that stage.

a few hours into the siege, three and then another two hostages got out of that cafe. some by the front door. some by the fire exit. they ran out and ran in to the arms of police, who had surrounded the cafe. we don't know if they were released by the hostage taker or escaped. for a long time nothing seemed to move. the streets are quiet, the area cordoned. the whole of the city was shot down by the police. but on the surface it seemed quiet, and we didn't know what was going on inside. much earlier in the seeing situation we did see hostages with their hands up against the windows. we saw a black flag and words in arabic. that was held up in the window

as well early on in the siege. for many ours, for many of these hours, there has not been much of the movement. we don't know what prompted this raid just at at 2:00 in the morning an hour ago sydney time. we don't have a clear line of sight to the square just on the left-hand side. but we certainly heard the noise, loud explosions what sounded like rapid gunfire, a pause and then more of the same. the pictures you're seeing now suggest that heavy explosions, and it seems gunfire as well. >> very loud. very dramatic. it must have been terrifying for the hostages who clearly had not known what was going on at that point. they saw a chance and ran for it.

you mentioned earlier about the islamic flag and pointed out far too early to talk about what motivated it. but it is the case that australia raised it's alert level because of possible threats of isil in syria and iraq. >> they thought that a terrorist attack here on australiaen soil was likely. not that they knew anything specific, but one was likely. they mounted what they called terror raids in the western part of sydney and in the cities of melbourne an as well. they felt that some plot was orchestrated and organized, and it should be said most of those people ended up being released,

and there was some talk that it may have been police overkill. they may have gone in too hard and arrested too many people. and they did not go into information about what toes alleged plots might be. colleague in one case the potential for a plot whereby a member of the public would have been seized in martin place, the very square we're talking about now, and beheaded in full public view. i should stress that was never released by police. it was merely reported in the local media here. with that kind of fever atmosphere in australia, this kind of siege situation feeds straight away into that idea that perhaps this has some connection with the middle east, sympathizers with isil or other groups. we have no confirmation of that information although the siege

is over. >> andrew thomas live on the scene for us in sydney. where he has been for the last 16 hours of this situation. let's just remind you where this happened. the lindt cafe is located at elizabeth street end of martin place. next goenext door is the bank of australia. and other major buildings including the world sydney opera house, and an iconic image of australia. these are live picks coming from sydney. you can see police rescue and paramedics on the scene guarding the entrance to the cafe. now police negotiations have been going on all day. let's talk about how one negotiates with hostage takers. i'm joined by robin a former

british air servicer and negotiator. good to have you with us again. in terms of deciding when a hostage situation needs to come to an end. this is a situation that came 16 hours after the start of the situation, what do police have to think about? >> well, the priority for the police is the preservation of life, and they were--the ideal situation is to have the hostage taker and the hostages all come out alive maybe a little bit tired. that's the ideal scenario. rarely is that actually the case. the decisions whether to mount an assault has nothing to do with the hostage negotiators. it has everything to do with the police and government. not the negotiators.

the negotiator establish a system of communication with the people who are inside the building, who are taking hostages in order to control the situation, to allow a situation to develop sensebly, and hopefully to get a good resolution. >> in terms of the way negotiations are conducted with hostage taker, how do--how does one proceed to getting contact with the hostage taker, and to get in to tell you why he's doing this, and to talk him down, as it were? >> well, ideally you limit his methods of communication, and only allow one point of communication to the outside world, that's where the hostage negotiator. if you can achieve that, which is very difficult these days with mobile communications, then you--you control him, and you contain him in a system that he

only has access through you. he has to negotiate and receive all of his information through one source. if he' there are other forms of communication that can undermine the system that you're trying to impart in order to rescue the hostages as quickly as safely as possible. >> just for the sake of argument, why let it drag on given that this hostage taker was standing in full view in front of the window at one point, and the cafe is not a secure building. would it have been easier to go in earlier? >> yes, in hindsight everybody knows the answers. human rights will--human rights activists will question you if you kill someone early in these situations, and then question

you later if people had died. this siege will be based on the figure of who has died. you have people in critical situations. you've got negotiators, policemen, government officials who have never dealt with this before. maybe never ever pulled a trigger before, who are thrust in these situations in order to preserve the lives of people of australia. it's very easy now for the media now it's over to look for reasons to find fault in that there should be no fault. they were put in a difficult situation. it looked that they had dealt with it extremely professionally and successfully, and let's hope that that is the case now.

>> i for one as part of the media thought it was a very difficult situation that the australian police have now managed to resolve, and i'm sure no decisions were easy to make. thank you very much for this. it was nice to speak with you. robin, live from london. >> let's go to other news now. french police have arrested ten people in raids targeting what they say is a network suspected of sending fighters to syria. some of the alleged organizers are already in jail. it's believed they were coordinating the network from prison. we're live from paris, and it sounds like a massive police operation. have you got more details? >> yes, i think the significance of this shooting is that police

believe they have broken out a fairly large organization, which is involved in, as you say, recruiting and organizing the sending of fighters to iraq and syria. these are not just individuals. it's an organization that has helped to arrange these journeys that young men must--mostly young men are taking from france. about a thousand french nationals so far have been recorded going to iraq and syria to fight for groups like isil. so this is a significant moment, and if the investigation has been going on for 18 months, we understand that it was prompted by a woman, a turkish family, we believe, who was worried about her own son being a fighter or a potential fighter. she contacted police, and they began in investigation, which

culminated earlier on monday morning across france in normandy in the north, paris, and mostly to lose this in the south. >> there ought to be a law against sending recruiting in to fighting. >> there is, but it remains a huge issue for government, individual communities across the country. and of course there are reeducation programs, laws strengthened to prevent recruitment, and also laws which allow the french government like other governments across europe to prosecute men when they

return because of course the primary concern or one of the primary concerns is that the violence will be imported back to europe, that attacks could happen here. anyone concerned in combat, including the police, is that the profile of people who are going appears to be widening. there is a perception until recently that most of these men were from disadvantaged suburbs, france, their life prospects were not very good. what appears to be happening now there are examples of young men from middle class families, one wouldn't imagine superficially to be prime prospects for recruitment to isil. i think this is what is worrying the authorities. it's getting harder and harder to actually put their finger on

who exactly are the people that are being targeted by these recruitment organizations, which the police have managed to break up today. >> thank you for that. tim friend live for us in paris there. and in this whole issue a conference is underway in morocco discussing ways to block fighters traveling though terr to terrorist fighting in different countries. fighting has intensified at the border of tunisia. >> reporter: smoke rises in western libya. the sound of airstrikes echos for kilometers. the battle is most fierce at the border of tunisia. at one side the so-called tribes

army, the group aligned but not formerly sided with former general haftar. on the other side the forces of libyan dawn. a coalition of militias loosely associated with the tripoli based government. >> today we lost 14 fighters and more than 23 injured in airstrikes by the enemy. they even targeted a residential area. we managed to repel their armed forces back. >> with the country awash with powerful militia and rival governments in tripoli and tibruk. libya is a in the state of lawlessness. fighting in this oil-rich region has forced other terminals to close. >> the attack on the oil region

clearly shows that libyan dawn wants to be fully in charge of the oil sources that we need in order to sponsor their terrorist operations. just as other terrorist groups have done in other parts of the world. >> complicating matters further, there are plans to help libyan dawn figh fighters in bengahzi. >> the iraqi army has been engaged in fierce fighting as it tries to push isil out of anbar province. there has also been violence in had had hadifa near the border crossing. in italy the biggest attack

of its kind in two years opposition fighters. >> al jazeera continues to demand the release of its journalist who is have been jailed on false charges in helping the outlawed muslim brotherhood. they're appealing against their convictions. the israeli prime minister and u.s. secretary of state are meeting in rome to discuss various proposals for palestinian state. benjamin netanyahu first met the italian prime minister before sitting down with john kerry. the talks between netanyahu and kerry are focuses on a palestinian-drafted resolution circulated by jordan to the u.n. security council last month calling for israeli occupation of palestinian plans to end by november 2016.

well ahead of that meeting with the u.s. secretary of state the israeli prime minister said that he won't accept any timetable to withdraw military. >> in recent years time after time we repulsed efforts to dictate conditions that have damaged the security of israel, and do not comply with real peace. also this time we will not accept attempts for unilateral moves to be dictated to us within a given timeline. in the reality in which islamic terrorism is reaching out to all corners of the world we will rebuff any attempt that would put this terrorism inside our home inside the state of israel. i will make this clear, we will stand firm. >> a nationwide strike in belgium has brought parts of the country to a standstill. thousands of trade unionists have taken part of a stoppage which has forced the stoppage of flights and rail services.

in a few minutes, we'll go to one of the poorest parts of belgium. but first we have the latest from brussels. >> the objective of the unions was to bring the country to a standstill, and certainly as far as the capitol city is concerned they do seem to have achieved that aim. the railway stations are closed. underground stations are closed. the public sector is ground to a standstill just a few small shops and small cafes are open, but by and large the city has been completely deserted. the unions are protesting against spending cuts, which would see the retirement age rise by two years and would also see the government scrapping a planned inflation link pay rise due to take place next year. they say they want more of the burden of the spending cuts, the budget problems to be born by big business in the financial sector.

they say it's not fear for ordinary wor working people, ordinary families to bear most of the load. but the goffed said it needs to make these spending cuts to balance the budget. it will be interesting to see where after the strike the unions can take their protest if they wish to push their w demand further. this used to be an industrial heartland with steal mine steel mines. nowadays, this is one of the poorest parts of belgium with high unemployment. this construction company on the outskirts of the town is one example of how the region is trying to diver diversify economically. it employs 60 people. the factory is not working during the germ strike. the managers expect traffic chaos so they prefer to remain

close to the day. the director said that they can see both points of view, the governments and trade unions. >> i am between the two like everyone i would like to work less, but i would also like to have a pension. the truth lies between the two. >> belgiums new government, which took office two months ago, is trying to tackle the huge national death. it plans to raise the pension age from 65 to 67, and scrap the pay rise due next year. there has been a strong labor movement gas bag 150 years. the trade unions of today have been the driving force behind the anti-austerity protests, which are culminating in a general strike. >> we are moving away from one of the strongest social model it's of the world. today with this war on wages,

we're going to totally destroy the system of social security. >> this struggle to balance the budget and reduce national debt is not exclusive to belgium. it's a dilemma that is playing out right across the euro zone. thousands of people have taken to the streets in the hungarian capitol to protest against government spending cuts and corruption. demonstrations have become common on the streets over the past two months. people are angry over suspected fraud by top officials an. anti-government protesters in pakistan have closed down cities. they are staging sit-ins in 18 different locations. the party led by former crittering im ran khan.

>> bringing the city to a standstill. former cricketer imran khan said that he'll bring it to a standstill. he said the demand is for the judicial commission to probe into allegations of massive rigging. he wanted the prime minister to resign earlier but said that he is willing to call off his nationwide protest of shutting down the country on the 18th if the government agrees to the formation of a judicial commission. however, the government is seen also shown his determination not to buckle under demands of the pdi. one thing is quite clear. he has support of the city. the word has gone out in large

numbers, and they'll make sure that the strike is us. >> in haiti demonstrators say they'll stay in the streets until the president steps down well. demanding elections that are already three years overdue. speaking for the first time since stepping down, he said he was leaving with a sense of accomplishment. >> if my resignation will put an end to the current political crisis i decided tonight based on the constitution to give the president my letter of resignation as head of the government. >> hundreds of people are sheltering in makeshift camps after heavy rain triggered a land slide. 51 people are confirmed dead, and dozens are still missing. we have more from the village.

>> the grim scene. the whole village has been buried after a huge chunk of the mountain has come down in a landslide. rescue workers are looking for any more villagers. ist mates of four to ten meters of soil are on top of the village. because there is a lot of water up in the mountains, the risk of more landslides is increasing. everyone was forced to leave the area right away. while the death toll is rising, the authorities are hopeful that all people can be found. it's a difficult task that is done mainly manually. many roll tears are here to help, risking their own life. and don't forget you can keep up-to-date with all the day's news and developments on our website.

the top stories there, the siege in the australian city of sidney, which lasts over 16 hours ended a short time ago. we've got all the details on that. the website address, www.aljazeera.com. that's www.aljazeera.com. predatory lending and a poorly regulated financial system were at the root of the crisis. but now, housing sales in some parts of the country have picked up. >> it really started in 2010, 2011 in the wake of the housing bust and the foreclosure crisis that ensued. >> there were markets that were totally devastated. >> you had an unbelievable number of foreclosed homes. >> at foreclosure auctions like

this one in georgia, competition has gotten steep. >> sold! >> what's the name of your company? >> we're private. >> but the recovery isn't quite what it seems. >> housing recoveries are typically led by buyers. and those buyers, historically, were typically homeowners. people who intended to purchase and live in the home. they weren't investors, and it wasn't second homes. >> i don't want to be on camera >> but in 2011, 2012, you started seeing firms that were backed by some of the larger private equity firms beginning to get into the market. >> who came in and bought houses by the block, basically. >> we've been trying to talk to some of the investors here like invitation homes right behind me, but they refused to talk to us. >> this has not been the ideal recovery. this is the only housing recovery we have right now. >> it's a landlord's market and rents are rising across the

country. the question is: are investors jump-starting the economy or laying the foundation for a new crisis. >> right now the biggest landlords in the u.s. is wall street. >> tonight: fault lines investigates america's largest and most powerful landlords: wall street. >> atlanta is really rough right now, is very rough you know for a family to own your home. atlanta now is becoming lease and rental. >> atlanta, georgia is a city that was gutted by the foreclosure crisis. six years after the crash, many residents here are still at risk of losing their homes. since 2008, almost 5 million u.s.

homes have been lost to foreclosure. now, there are nearly two million more homeowners who are on the brink. >> eighteen years. over 18 years you've worked and poured your heart into where you live to make the house a home that you're children have grown up in. your memories are here. what do we do? we fight. >> tammy doe was fighting to keep her home of nearly two decades when it was foreclosed on and sold to a new owner at auction. >> they don't wanna hear nothing you have to say. they just feel like you just in this position because you refused to pay your mortgage. no that's not the reason. >> she believes the foreclosure was illegal, but to prove it - and win back her home - is an uphill battle. when we met, she was on the verge of eviction. >> you know people say the

america dream is to own your own home and to have something to leave for your children. it's not that anymore. i don't see it >> if tammy doesn't win the legal fight, there's only one way she can stay in her home: to rent it back. >> do you know who owns your home right now? >> colony... colony america, colony homes. >> colony american homes, the home rental arm of private equity firm colony capital, is now one of the largest landlords in america. >> "there's nothing more american than the dream of living in your own home. colony american homes is helping people right now, to fulfill that dream." >> colony american when every home we went to it was fixed up, nice... >> the company owns over 16,000 homes in 10 states, purchased primarily from foreclosure auctions. >> "today there are fewer opportunities from strong investments, and even fewer opportunities to make a difference. at colony american homes,

we will do both." >> now we have seen the recreation of the dream as well maybe you won't be a homeowner but we really need more people who are renters, because we over-stimulated home ownership. >> ... and for me to have to rent and never own my own home? no. can't do it. >> "we bought the house for a hundred and thirty two five." >> tammy isn't alone. her neighbors are also fighting for their homes in this predominantly african american suburb, 60% of all homeowners are underwater. predatory lenders disproportionately targeted african americans and latinos for riskier loans, including middle-income minorities who should have qualified for conventional mortgages. >> do you feel like you've been targeted? >> oh yeah, most definitely. >> yes. >> definitely. >> yeah. bulls eyed out. >> and... and i... you know, basically i just refuse to spend

20 years in the military, working my buns off from dusk to dawn 7 days a week for 20 years, and come home and just give my retirement away. i'm not going to do that. >> colony bought your house for 40,000 dollars. >> uhum. >> an estimated 7 trillion dollars in housing wealth was lost in the crisis. much of it from communities like tammy's. >> you work and you work and you try to be the upholding citizen, and to guard your integrity. for them to come in and just rip it from you? that hurts. don't tell me about the american dream because i don't believe in it. >> 60% of our wealth was in our home. and then we had the predators suck that wealth out. they came in and took it out.

that wealth had purpose. it was the engine for small business in our community. it is what educated our children. >> if you are low income or lower middle income you probably don't have a stock portfolio, it was your forced savings plan. >> with stagnant wages, rising debt, and tight mortgage credit, buying a home is a dream more and more people just can't afford >> homeownership is stability. it's a stake in our nation. that's been lost. we've lost that. it's all been transferred to wall street and now they're our landlords.

>> wherever the foreclosure crisis hit the hardest, the wall street landlords have moved in. in some parts of southern california, one in every twelve homes was foreclosed on. >> como esta? >> bien, bien. >> so nice to see you, thank you so much, gracias. >> now what's this? >> oh, really? it's a big house.

>> esperanza rosales was in tammy's situation not long ago. the home she lost is also now owned by colony american homes. she had eight days to pack up and move 22 years worth of belongings. >> what has been the hardest thing for you since you lost your home and became a renter? >> esperanza and her family now live in a rental home owned by another corporate landlord.

>> the new landlords have moved into communities already plagued by housing instability. housing advocates and federal officials agree: we are living through the worst rental affordability crisis in u.s. history. now communities are concerned about wall street rents. we went with esperaza and her daughter to this community meeting in south la. los angeles already has the highest rent to income ratio of any city in the country. >> at the time not only had my mom just lost our house, that we lived in for 22 years, but she also lost her job. >> i didn't know what to look for what to see, because we have never experienced or had to go rent anywhere else. as long as she would get a moderate payment, that she could afford,

she would've kept the house. >> ok. i myself am a renter. i'm a member of congress but i was a teacher for 24 years, so i rent even in my own community. >> democratic congress members mark takano and maxine waters have also come to learn about corporate landlords in their districts. >> in order to force you to take out a long lease, they jack up the price of month to month.. >> my lease payment is much higher than my mortgage payment was... it's hard to reach the people when you need them. but when you owe them money. oh man. they email you they call you they put notices on the front door. >> the only time she called me back was um, i needed an extension on the rent and she said if you don't pay by the 10th, you're gonna be... the eviction is going to start. so i had to go out take out a loan, a payday loan of all things, so now i'm stuck in even bigger crisis trying to pay that back on time. it just seems like it's a sinkhole of [power play].

i'm getting into bigger and bigger debt. >> like esperanza, ursula and jeannette are tenants of invitation homes. in just a few years, the company has grown to be the largest single-family landlord in the country, buying up 45,000 homes across 14 markets at a cost of 9 billion dollars. the new venture is a subsidiary of the largest private equity firm in the world: the blackstone group. >> it's like a double jeopardy where... there were families that lost their homes and at the same time they're being taken advantage of in the rental markets. the connection there, i was really surprised. i thought the crisis was over. now it's 2014, the crisis continues. >> we already know that the industry associations for builders, for the real estate industry, they pour huge amounts of money into campaigns at the state and local level to defeat anything that would protect renters. now you bring in blackstone and these equity firms to join the fight on that side and you can

see what a goliath we're up against. >> yeah, a few years ago, the oecd ranked 32 industrialized countries on kind of tenant security and tenant protection. the u.s. came in last. as a nation, it's a landlord friendly place >> what we need is immediate protections for renters today in the form of rent stabilization, just cause eviction protections, a whole basket of policies that would have an immediate impact. >> but rising rents and affordability aren't the only concerns. >> there are also additional questions around the quality of the housing, the maintenance of the housing. >> this is a brand new industry. and so there is not an easy template for the tenant side, and for making sure that tenants are well served, and that the homes are safe and secure. >> did you know you wanted to live here the moment you saw

this house? >> yeah. >> yeah? how come? >> because i saw my kids playing here. i think that was it. that's what sold me to this house. because i knew my kids would have a wonderful place to play. >> right out front? >> it felt like home, you know? >> edit novshadyan, her husband, and two-year-old son, moved into this rental home in sun valley, california, in may of 2013. >> it's a nice little house. >> edith was 8 months pregnant at the time >> this is all your stuff that's still inside? >> yeah, that's, that's my stuff. that's my fridge, my table, my chairs, my home. it's still here. >> less than two months later, they moved out. >> our water was brown, yellow, i mean it was dirty. we couldn't shower. the molding inside my newborn's room, the molding at the bottom, that had turned brown. i mean the pipes were leaking. they said leave for 2 to 2.5 weeks and you'll come back home. we're gonna change the plumbing.

a few days later i got a call they found mold inside the house. >> they came to an agreement with their landlord that they would move. >> i don't understand. they said you could move but they wouldn't - >> release my property. >> why not? >> they were going to check my stuff so i can move it out. and they kept saying we're running more tests, running more tests, and they've never released it. >> the landlord changed the locks and their possessions - everything from furniture to wedding albums - were left inside. the weeks turned into 6 months of calls and emails, but no real answers. >> like after being exposed to the mold my children got sick. >> we started noticing a difference. like he would have like a runny nose, and he would have this cough. and we were thinking, "is he getting sick?" is he... he's a child and... it wouldn't go away. it wouldn't go away. and then my daughter had it. my daughter... >> your newborn daughter? >> my newborn daughter had it...like the runny nose, the cough and i'm like... is he giving it to her?

i mean what are the chances? and then me and my husband have it. are we always sick? >> the family is suffering from chronic flu-like symptoms that they say are a result of mold exposure. >> time and time i kept asking - tell me what type of mold it is, the pediatrician wants to know, just tell me. i kept asking. every phone call, every email. please tell me what type of mold it is. i'm sorry, please tell me what type of mold it is. and nothing. >> edith's landlord was not a local slumlord. invitation homes owns this property. >> there's some things you're supposed to provide right, as a landlord: clean water, suitable condition, how about that? like a healthy environment for a family to live in. i pay rent, you know, it's not like i was living there for free. when i wanted my stuff they said i can take my stuff but i have to sign a release, releasing them from liability. >> in response to our request to comment on the novshadyan's case, invitation homes wrote that the company: "...provided the family with a clean,

renovated home that encountered an unexpected home maintenance issue that was quickly resolved..." invitation homes also told us they repaired house along epa guidelines after the novshadyan's initial complaints and the resulting mold and asbestos tests came back negative. but they refused to release the results despite repeated requests from the family >> some of these properties were left unmaintained or abandoned for months, or in some extreme cases, now years. depending on the investor depending on the quality of the investor, depending on the integrity of the investor, some of them will actually do a really good job of refurbishing the house, and others will sort of put up new sheet-rock, and make them look pretty from the outside to get a renter in, only to find out later that the pipes are faulty, maybe there are infestations that were never taken care of, and the property really still is a problem property,

that probably should've been raised. >> i don't think they cared. i think to them we were just a monetary value. we weren't people. that was it. we were people paying rent. >> consider this: the news of the day plus so much more. >> we begin with the growing controversy. >> answers to the questions no one else will ask. >> real perspective, consider this on al jazeera america

>> we wanted to hear directly from the industry: the financiers and business leaders who are now america's largest and most powerful landlords. >> the other thing i'd say about investing is, it's often a lonely business. when you go back to 08, 09, we, like most of the people in this room, we were suffering, right? because asset values had declined pretty significantly. >> many of them were gathered at this investors' conference in new york city. >> what i would tell you about the business overall, you know, what's gone wrong... people in this room would be shocked to hear: renovating homes costs more and took longer [laughter in the audience].

that... that definitely happened. but what went right was home price appreciation went better than expected. >> the industry leader - invitation homes, denied our request for an interview. a new trade association - the national rental home council, and several other companies, also said no. the one insider who would talk to us on camera was toni moss - a housing finance specialist who helped to launch the industry. >> there was a major shadow inventory of foreclosed homes and we thought it would be interesting to see if we could get private capital back into the market and acquire these homes and revitalize these neighborhoods. >> who is regulating this industry right now? >> well.. this... yeah, that's the issue. it's not being regulated on a federal level. and therefore it's this massive granular situation where you have neighborhood regulations

and then you have municipal regulations and then you have state regulations. i mean can you imagine? when you have all those properties and you're trying to pay attention to what the neighborhood association is requiring? so it's not that the industry is not regulated, there is a lot of regulation. it's that the regulation itself is not consistent. >> investor landlords aren't just building a new business model. they have also created a new financial product: rental backed securities. >> we are already, a handful of years after the crisis, seeing the emergence of a new piece of the securitization market with weak standards, just as the primary mortgage securitization market had been in the lead up to the crisis. >> so what is securitization? >> securitization is a financial tool. the bonds are backed by assets

that have a cash flow. so anything where there are monthly payments coming in, you can securitize. so when a tenant sends their rent check each month to their property management company, fees are taken out to pay for property management and other... other related fees, and then what's left over is sent to the bond holders. >> mortgage securitization, other kinds of securitization got really..., took a huge hit during the crisis, yet you have this pent up demand... now you have this pent up demand to invest in those kinds of vehicles, so lets create a new one. >> do you think securitization poses... securities pose the same risk as mortgage-backed securities? >> no. absolutely not. i think that mortgage-backed securities were much more complex. this is very transparent, very straightforward, and it's bringing a lot of players into the market. >> the first rental-backed security was introduced by

invitation homes in october of 2013. since then, 9 more bonds have hit the market, valued at nearly 5 billion dollars. we reviewed the list of addresses on that first invitation homes security, and found that the sun valley home rented by edit novshadyan and her family, was one of the 3200 homes on the list. >> edith do you know that this house is part of blackstone's security? >> i don't know. i didn't even know that it was owned by blackstone. i just knew that we were renting from invitation homes. >> do i see the real risk that we are heading down the same path? that the lessons learned - the wrong lessons learned - that you can cherry pick the best loans or the best rental properties to keep for yourself and securitize the worst is happening or can happen? i think that is a very real risk. >> if something goes wrong, and bondholders aren't getting what they are supposed to get each month,

and the bond defaults, bondholders through their special servicer can seize the homes, so they can take the underlying collateral. >> that's not very secure for the tenants. >> we think there need to be more protections in that area. we think that's one of the risks and vulnerabilities here.. is that tenants could be displaced if things don't go as planned. >> back in washington, congressman mark takano, who sits on the house financial services committee, is a lone voice raising questions about new corporate landlords. >> i represent an area that suffered through the subprime mortgage crisis of the mortgage-backed securities. i am concerned about how fast these new types of rental-backed securities are going to proliferate. is there anything wrong with trying to make a profit? certainly not. but i want to make sure that

residents are being treated fairly. that the impact on my community is not negative. >> how powerful are these new institutional investors, companies like blackstone? >> one of the big problems we have with the functionality of our government is that the ordinary person doesn't believe they have as much say as these big financial interests. and they're right. >> we have voted numerous times to weaken financial regulations, the dodd-frank bill, the federal consumer protection bureau has been the subject of many pieces of legislation this past year. i'm not able to get one single hearing on this issue. >> if you've got lobbying powers who lobby 24 hours a day 7 days

a week 365 days a year on behalf of banks, on behalf of issuers, and no one protecting investors or the consumer, you got a problem. >> the lack of change will allow them to do it all over again when people's memories fade and the dust settles. >> start with one issue education... gun control... the gap between rich and poor... job creation... climate change... tax policy... the economy... iran... healthcare... ad guests on all sides of the debate. >> this is a right we should all have... >> it's just the way it is... >> there's something seriously wrong... >> there's been acrimony... >> the conservative ideal... >> it's an urgent need... and a host willing to ask the tough questions >> how do you explain it to yourself? and you'll get... the inside story

ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5 eastern only on al jazeera america >> you know how they say that everybody has a purpose in life? well, at one time i felt that selling cocaine was my purpose. >> we were starving just looking for a way to succeed. >> the first time that i seen rock cocaine was 1980. >> the murder rate was sky-high. >> south of the ten freeway was kind of a no-man's land. >> he said, "ya know, we're selling it to the blacks, you go into these neighborhoods, there's no cops, you can sell to who every you want and when they start killing each other no body cares. >> i was going through like a million dollars worth of drugs just about every day. >> that's like gold! we can make a fortune. >> he was maybe the biggest guy in la. >> freeway rick was getting his dope from a very big operator. i think we're into something that's bigger than us, something we really can't deal with. >> they had been trafficking on behalf of the united states

government. >> she could prove what she was saying. >>♪ crack in the system an 16 hour siege at an australian cafe ends. at least two people were injured. local immediate has named the hostage taking as man haran monis, a man known to police. welcome to al jazeera. welcome to our headquarters in doha. also coming up on the program, a battle in bolivi