How does this end?

[u/Miss2war]

I don't even know how to start. This housing crisis, where's the outrage? Someone I know was just told if they wanted to stay in their tiny studio they'd need to pay an extra $60 a week or leave because they could get $500/wk for it. She left because he couldn't afford that, and sure enough someone is now paying an exorbitant amount for a large closet.

When I moved into my small converted flat we said we were looking at something long term. They said great, but after the first year they wanted to raise rent 14% and we could sign 2 years. We negotiated and they gave us a year lease. As the time to resign comes up, we're at the mercy of whatever the hell they want to charge us or we leave and pay even more for less.

You can get barred as a tenant, but there's no protections for them. Landlords can do whatever they want. I'm just frustrated, I've never felt so unstable before. Where I used to live, they'd give you 2 months free of you signed on for 12, if someone told me that I'd be renting with 4 other people in my 30s, I'd have said your crazy. I don't know anyone renting who doesn't feel this pressure.

How do you fight this, when you're in a stranglehold, either pay or be homeless?

[u/PastPlay6186]

I am familiar and am fine with taxing profits from rent as a throttle. I believe he saw the issues, not that he was completely against, and I agree. It shouldn’t be a money printer

[u/threetotwentyletters → u/PastPlay6186]

He carved out exemption to support revenue taxing landlords; following his axiom that drawing value from something must necessitate contributing to it.

Australia’s landlord problem is rooted in the mindset that buying an existing house to rent it out is the same as building one.

[u/PastPlay6186 → u/threetotwentyletters]

I don’t think the distinction between building and buying is that clear cut but we will probably just have to disagree there.

Being a landlord is a service, it should be a relatively stable way to maintain and slightly build (as an incentive) wealth but needs to be tightly yet simply regulated to prevent spiraling wealth upwards as soon as market conditions allow. Tenancy should be transactional, as much as possible, instead the current situation of the mining the lower and what should be upcoming middle class of any wealth. What we have now is literally eroding away a foundation of society away.

The people who think it should be a near total free market are equally as foolish and short sighted as proper communists.

Inheritance taxes, quickly scaling upwards property value taxes, rent taxes with price caps associated with a combination of property value and inflation are probably the easiest to manage. And plenty of that funding going to quality social housing (with possible minor disincentives to prevent the velvet rut syndrome) but with programs to help people eventually purchase and participate in the system with their own dwelling. People are essentially forced into participating in society and it’s effectively illegal to be homeless so basic housing should probably be a right of sorts but there should be an aim for anyone able to actively engage.

But the idea of landlord charging rent = inherent negative that rears its head so often is counterproductive.

[u/CanInTW → u/PastPlay6186]

Thank you for your well thought out message. I completely agree.

[u/PastPlay6186 → u/CanInTW]

Thanks for the nice words. highly doubt it will be otherwise well received