undefined | Better HN

0 pointsscarlac6y ago0 comments

It's not ideal and no silver bullet, but having rents go up means "normal" people living in places for years get pushed out of the city and land lords get richer, faster. It seems to address that issue, which is not all bad on the surface.

It's not the perfect solution, but what do you propose as something better that still helps normal people not get pushed out?

0 comments

rconti6y ago

I don't have a perfect solution, either, but I see unintended consequence from this:

* Fewer rentals on the market

* More instances of landlords "re-occupying" a place (eg, ACTUALLY kicking out the residents) in order to fix it up (or not) and then re-rent to someone else at a much higher base rent, later.

When rents go up, tenants push themselves out (or, the market pushes them out). When we devise tenant protection laws, we invent 'better' landlords who find clever ways to PUSH out people who are paying below market.

If there was a way to artificially hold ALL rents down, it might be less obvious -- but under a rent control scheme, everyone knows when you're paying below market; you look at the classified ads (okay, craigslist) and see that you could never afford to find a 'new' place like yours at the same price. The tenants know it, the landlords know it. The tenants have protection. For awhile. Until they don't.

pontifier6y ago

My uncle was given an eviction notice last month so the owner can fix the place up. Expect many more people to get similar notices before the new eviction protections kick in at the end of the year.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse