Congress' Youngest Member Hits His First Snag: Renting An Apartment After A Failed Credit Check

The youngest member of Congress was psyched to be moving to the nation's capital to begin his new job for the people of Florida in the House of Representatives.

First Things First: Find A Place To Live. 

Maxwell Frost (D), 25, found an affordable apartment in Washington D.C.'s Navy Yard neighborhood. So he filled out the questionnaire, paid the $50 application fee and waited for the routine credit check to go through. 

But alas, like many Gen Zers who are either saddled with college debt or have been unable to land a decent-paying job, Frost's credit score was too low to qualify to rent the apartment. 

Frost campaigned for progressive issues such as legalizing recreational marijuana, Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, tightening gun laws and instituting national protections for tenants and curbing real estate speculation to deal with housing affordability.

During his year-and-a-half campaign, he quit his full-time job and drove an Uber to make some money but that wasn't enough to keep him out of credit card debt.

"It's unfortunate. It's a known issue, especially amongst the more working-class members. It's definitely a problem," Frost said about the rigors of running for public office. Then he took to Twitter.

Just applied to an apartment in DC where I told the guy that my credit was really bad. He said I’d be fine. Got denied, lost the apartment, and the application fee.

This ain’t meant for people who don’t already have money.

— Maxwell Alejandro Frost (@MaxwellFrostFL) December 8, 2022

Frost told NPR that he posted his tweet in a moment of frustration, but also to highlight the problem of affordability and accessibility in the D.C. political world for people who don't come from wealth.

According to Zillow, the median rent for a small apartment in D.C. starts at $2,600 - up $350 from last year's average. The lack of affordable rentals in major cities is a nationwide problem as prices are up 15% from a year ago, reported Redfin RDFN, which recently announced it would lay off 13% of its staff, suggesting the housing crisis will get worse before it improves.

Meanwhile, once Frost starts receiving his congressional salary in the range of $170,000, he'll eventually be able to afford an apartment. 

"In two years, my credit won't necessarily be a huge problem. But, you know, right now it is, and so many people go through this," he said.

He's got that right.

Photo: Wikipedia