Another post I was debating this in seems to have been deleted, but I’d like to continue the conversation. There seem to be some landlords and landlord-sympathizers on this sub that don’t understand the concept of being anti-landlord. To be clear: I AM ANTI-CAPITALIST, I do not support making a profit off your fellow humans, hoarding resources, or forcing others to scrape by to afford basic necessities. With that being said what I wrote below is being explained through the lens of capitalism since some folks can’t (or don’t want to) see beyond that.
Currently, the USA is experiencing a housing shortage (I’m aware that there are housing shortages elsewhere but I’m not educated on them enough to comfortably speak on them, though I’m sure some of my points apply elsewhere too). The current supply of houses is not meeting the demand for housing and so when demand is high and supply is low for something relatively inelastic (like shelter necessary for survival) the price rises. This has been happening for a while and increasingly getting worse as becoming a landlord on the side has become a trendy thing. Websites like BiggerPockets and TikTok landlords blowing up over giving recommendations on how “you too can become a landlord as a side hustle” is evidence of just how popular this idea is becoming. This is exacerbating the issue, creating more and more of a shortage. There are other things that contribute to the housing shortage but they are MUCH more minor in impact. No other contributing factors are even in the same realm as buying up all the available homes and holding them so no one else can. You’re literally taking the supply.
If you are a landlord you are exploiting those who are renting from you and contributing to their inability to purchase housing by taking housing off the market that you aren’t using and holding it. At the end of the day the person who is paying your mortgage through rent will eventually leave the property they’re renting with nothing, while you get to keep the equity they paid into that property for free. They pay your mortgage and you get to sell that house later and keep all that money.
Let’s go over some of the common arguments I see:
“Renters WANT to rent.”
Most renters these days do NOT want to rent. They want to own but are pushed out of the market for owning because housing prices have skyrocketed because of the aforementioned landlords buying up housing and hoarding it, creating an artificial shortage.
“We NEED renting”
If you live somewhere for 1+ years (most rental contracts are 1 year) you could purchase a property and sell it when you want/have to move (assuming there was housing available and it was affordable). Most people who are renting live in that town/city for many years but cannot afford to purchase a home. Why? Because landlords are creating an artificial housing shortage by holding onto properties that they could sell, which is driving up the prices of the remaining houses. It’s a double whammy of shittiness. Not only are you exploiting your neighbor but you’re contributing to a housing shortage that’s making it impossible for them to make any other choice but to be exploited through renting.
“But I’m a ‘good’ landlord — I only charge what I pay in mortgage and other expenses”
At the end of the day, your renter is the person who is paying your mortgage will eventually leave the property they’re renting with nothing, while you get to keep the equity in that property for free. They pay your mortgage and you get to sell that property later and keep all that money. At its essence being a landlord is using other people to pay your bills so you can cash out on their desperation. Is it better that you don’t overcharge? Sure. But being somewhat unethical rather than very unethical isn’t something to be proud of. If you really cared about the people you are renting to you could sell them the property they live in for a reasonable amount that they can afford — you could even do “rent to buy” (in a way that isn’t exploitative) and cut out the middle-man lenders altogether. Your savior complex is nauseating — you’re not saving anyone, you’re just continuing to exploit them in a slightly less shitty way.
“But the landlords need to make a profit off their investment”
In this market, it’s rare that you won’t make a lot of money by selling property. By continuing to be a landlord while you can sell your property for a large profit you’re saying that you value that little bit of extra money enough to exploit your neighbors for their hard-earned money and them into a lifetime of this exploitation by contributing to the housing market by contributing to the housing shortage that’s raising housing prices beyond reach. If that’s your jam, then may I recommend blood diamonds or sweatshops as your next financial endeavor? I hear they’re popular amongst your type.
“Some people are too poor to afford housing”
You’re totally right. Maybe if landlords would stop driving up housing prices to unreachable levels by creating a shortage by hoarding all of the property more people would be able to afford to buy a house of their own. If you’re really concerned about your renter’s financial well-being then sell them the property they’re renting at a price they can afford, even if they have to pay it off in small installments.
“What about apartments and multi-family homes?”
Each unit can be owned separately just like condos and you can have an agreement in place for how to deal with expenses that impact multiple units or an owner-run and owner-funded HOA if you have enough units for it, just like some condos do.