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0 pointsardy426y ago0 comments

>> Collecting rents from people without the capital to own housing, in addition to increases in land value, is about as textbook an example of parasitism as one could imagine. Let [the landlords] take a bath and keep people housed.

> Who would you suggest should own the property instead of landlords? Should all housing be state owned instead?

Why would state ownership be their first choice? There are obviously other, more moderate options that solve the landlord issue, such as having housing units owned by their occupants.

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4 comments · 2 top-level

erik_seaberg6y ago· 2 in thread

Where do new houses come from, if occupants aren't paying their share of the labor and material cost that went into them? There are always popular areas without enough space for everyone, who decides who gets to live there? Why single out my landlord to lose everything for choosing a different asset class than I did?

ardy42OP6y ago

> Where do new houses come from, if occupants aren't paying their share of the labor and material cost that went into them?

Landlords are out to make a profit, so renters are obviously already "paying their share" of the cost of their unit in rent. If they weren't, their landlord would be broke.

> Why single out my landlord to lose everything for choosing a different asset class than I did?

Call it "creative destruction." Like the buggy-whip makers of old, maybe he made a bad choice about what business to get into?

erik_seaberg6y ago

I was replying to "housing units owned by their occupants". From then on who's paying who for what?

Buggy whips are obsolete, it doesn't matter if nobody makes more. Housing is not, and it's important to compensate people that provide it because that's very expensive.

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quicklyfrozen6y ago

Because many people don't want the responsibilities of home ownership, or to be exposed to the risk. Also makes relocation a lot more complicated.

There's no particular guarantee that land value will continue to increase either, or that market rates for rentals will continue to increase.

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