this post was submitted on 16 Jan 2024
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That sounds like a solution but isn't. In my experience, the corporations I had as landlords were completely aware of what they are allowed to do and are obligated to do. The private landlords I had were the craziest bitches imaginable. Stuff didn't happen as it should have, laws were intentionally misinterpreted and twisted, etc.
The reason why my experience differs so much is laws. Here in Germany, we've got strong renter's protection laws. They are still too weak in some places but really, really clear in most. So while my private landlord tried to make me pay for repairs, the company doesn't bother with such illegal bullshit, sends over a contractor they work with regularly and shit gets done.
We have those problems here (the US) too but the greater problem is that corporations buying up homes is driving increases in housing prices. Greater housing prices leads to higher rent and higher mortgage payments, fucking over regular people every which way, unless of course you happened to buy your home 30 years ago, in which case everything's peachy and you can reverse mortgage yourself into a vacation home in Boca.
Then with all that cash they drop some of it on buying the lawmakers, preventing or removing renter protections. Once that's done, remove things from the lease that cost $$, up the rent. Profit even more.
There are some better ways to address this than what this post is advocating.
For example, why should a corporation buying a residential property be getting the same (or better) interest rate than an individual who intends to buy it and live in it?
Why should that corporation be able to deduct expenses that an individual could not if they were living there?
There are ways to give the individuals a leg up over the corporations in the market without something drastic like this that has no chance of happening.
We have a self inflicted real estate speculation problem. Housing can be a good investment or it can be affordable, but not both.
The problem isn't corporate ownership of housing, it's generalized speculation in the real estate market.
If you want to buy rental housing to maintain it for people to live in, that's a legitimate thing that benefits society.
If you want to buy housing for the purposes of reselling it for more money, or converting permanent housing into rentals or illegal hotels, that doesn't have value.
Housing should be for people to live in. Hotels should be for people to stay in.
I also had good experiences with corporate landlords, if something broke they already had electrical/plumbing/other workers permanently hired that would come home the same week and fix everything without hassle. The price rises were established by national inflation indicators so there were not surprised rises on rent.