Some people want to rent (e.g., young people, people with mobile jobs, or people who just aren’t ready to be tied down to one place).
And I don’t have a problem with a small-time property owner renting out a house at a fair rate. In theory it’s a win-win: the renter gets a place to stay, the landlord builds equity in their property.
The issue we have is two-fold:
Companies buying up massive amounts of property (not just a house or two, but thousands) and turning entire neighborhoods into rent zones, driving out any competition and availability of housing to buy, thereby driving up prices.
Price collusion amongst these companies, driving up rent far above fair rates, using these software services that share going rates across markets. That reduces consumer choice.
Barring a really interesting solution, like a Land Value Tax or something, my proposal to remediate this housing problem is rather straight-forward and simple:
Prohibit these software companies from sharing rental rates info to customers. Landlords just need to figure it out in their own markets the old fashioned way.
Prohibit corporations from buying housing with the intention to rent it. Force these corporations to sell their housing and get out of the landlord business.
Allow individuals to hold property for renting out, but cap number of properties a person or household can own for the express intention of renting out to five at any given time. That allows a person to build up a nice little savings nest, and provide a rental property to someone who wants to rent, but doesn’t allow anyone to dominate a housing market. Look for those massive profits elsewhere - start a business that creates and provides value.
Some people WANT to have short-term commitments to their housing location. That is currently accomplished through rent. That’s an important distinction you are missing while trying to preserve elements of familiarity with the way the world currently works.
And that is precisely what I am disputing. No one WANTS to rent specifically, it’s just that there aren’t a lot of other options for short-term commitments. You’re looking at hotels, couch surfing, van life, nomadism. All of which exist but are less common.
The rest of their statement was about trying to find ways making renting less bad when the real solution is to eliminate the need for rent or landlords at all. You can still have short-term housing options without landlords.
In fact, in a lot of countries it is customary for landlords to require long-term leases most of the time. In most of the Middle East rents are paid annually up-front. In India it’s common to see security deposits of 6 months rent or more. The only force keeping short-term housing options available to those who want them are… Those who want them. The market demand, and the responsiveness to that demand.
But one of the major shifts the world is seeing globally is the breakdown of the relationship between demand and supply, with more and more power going to the supply side. Landlords in particular are colluding indirectly through 3rd party consulting firms against renters. It’s almost comical now to talk about how many countries like Canada, the UK, and the US are having housing crisis while the new construction seems to be almost exclusively low-densith luxury homes. Renters simply do not have the power to influence supply today.
Do you mean this post on Lemmy? Cause I’d vote for someone running for public office with that as their platform pertaining to the housing situation/crisis
Alas, I have zero interest in running for any public office.
Funny, that: with notable exceptions, of course, it’s generally the busy-body, loud-mouthed, ideologically-possessed control-freaks who seek any sort of political power. Sensible people tend to mind their own goddamned business, until the politicians and wingnuts force our hands to finally get involved.
It is a well-known fact that those people who most want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it… anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.
Politicians in most modern governments, of course, aren’t emperors who issue edicts and instantly enact sweeping change.
The imaginary politician in this scenario would run what that platform expressing the ideal. They then try to get those policies enacted against the opposition, which is both the inertia of the bureaucracy and opposing political winds.
You saying the imaginary person running for president with that platform couldn’t snap their fingers and put it in place doesn’t mean they wouldn’t steer the government in that direction, thats almost always the best we can do and I don’t think we should give up because the change we want isnt immediate
Some people want to rent (e.g., young people, people with mobile jobs, or people who just aren’t ready to be tied down to one place).
And I don’t have a problem with a small-time property owner renting out a house at a fair rate. In theory it’s a win-win: the renter gets a place to stay, the landlord builds equity in their property.
The issue we have is two-fold:
Companies buying up massive amounts of property (not just a house or two, but thousands) and turning entire neighborhoods into rent zones, driving out any competition and availability of housing to buy, thereby driving up prices.
Price collusion amongst these companies, driving up rent far above fair rates, using these software services that share going rates across markets. That reduces consumer choice.
Barring a really interesting solution, like a Land Value Tax or something, my proposal to remediate this housing problem is rather straight-forward and simple:
Prohibit these software companies from sharing rental rates info to customers. Landlords just need to figure it out in their own markets the old fashioned way.
Prohibit corporations from buying housing with the intention to rent it. Force these corporations to sell their housing and get out of the landlord business.
Allow individuals to hold property for renting out, but cap number of properties a person or household can own for the express intention of renting out to five at any given time. That allows a person to build up a nice little savings nest, and provide a rental property to someone who wants to rent, but doesn’t allow anyone to dominate a housing market. Look for those massive profits elsewhere - start a business that creates and provides value.
Anyway, one can dream, I guess.
People don’t “want to rent”. They want shelter. It’s just that renting is the easiest way to get that.
People don’t “want to work.” They want money. It’s just that working is the easiest way for most people to get that.
Well, thanks Captain Obvious. Statements like that are technically true, but how helpful are they for contributing to a conversation?
greedy people have this weird argument that the rest of humanity shares their mental illness of worshiping money.
I don’t think that’s true, but I suppose then we’d have a debate over what “work” is.
Well, we were having a discussion about renting vs. owning which you seemed to understand were two different things.
You can have non profit driven rentals though…? Why does rent need to be profit driving?
Landlords are parasites. Period.
Some people WANT to have short-term commitments to their housing location. That is currently accomplished through rent. That’s an important distinction you are missing while trying to preserve elements of familiarity with the way the world currently works.
Acknowledging people wanting to rent was literally their first sentence
And that is precisely what I am disputing. No one WANTS to rent specifically, it’s just that there aren’t a lot of other options for short-term commitments. You’re looking at hotels, couch surfing, van life, nomadism. All of which exist but are less common.
The rest of their statement was about trying to find ways making renting less bad when the real solution is to eliminate the need for rent or landlords at all. You can still have short-term housing options without landlords.
In fact, in a lot of countries it is customary for landlords to require long-term leases most of the time. In most of the Middle East rents are paid annually up-front. In India it’s common to see security deposits of 6 months rent or more. The only force keeping short-term housing options available to those who want them are… Those who want them. The market demand, and the responsiveness to that demand.
But one of the major shifts the world is seeing globally is the breakdown of the relationship between demand and supply, with more and more power going to the supply side. Landlords in particular are colluding indirectly through 3rd party consulting firms against renters. It’s almost comical now to talk about how many countries like Canada, the UK, and the US are having housing crisis while the new construction seems to be almost exclusively low-densith luxury homes. Renters simply do not have the power to influence supply today.
How do you mean “your proposal”?
Do you mean this post on Lemmy? Cause I’d vote for someone running for public office with that as their platform pertaining to the housing situation/crisis
Shit, I’d vote for that person, too.
Alas, I have zero interest in running for any public office.
Funny, that: with notable exceptions, of course, it’s generally the busy-body, loud-mouthed, ideologically-possessed control-freaks who seek any sort of political power. Sensible people tend to mind their own goddamned business, until the politicians and wingnuts force our hands to finally get involved.
-Douglas Adams
You’d vote for a president running on a platform they would have zero authority to enact?
I didn’t specify president per se.
Politicians in most modern governments, of course, aren’t emperors who issue edicts and instantly enact sweeping change.
The imaginary politician in this scenario would run what that platform expressing the ideal. They then try to get those policies enacted against the opposition, which is both the inertia of the bureaucracy and opposing political winds.
You saying the imaginary person running for president with that platform couldn’t snap their fingers and put it in place doesn’t mean they wouldn’t steer the government in that direction, thats almost always the best we can do and I don’t think we should give up because the change we want isnt immediate
Wow finally someone else with a level-headed take. Careful though, that kind of thinking doesn’t do well here