General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Why not outlaw landlordism? [View all]daredtowork
(3,732 posts)The stock market has an SEC that regulates, steps in over major rises and falls, and punishes activities like rumor-mongering to create false markets. Why don't we have that to protect the rental market where people's shelter is literally dependent on the rents remaining stable rather than being blown up into speculation bubbles?
Also rents right now are being notoriously manipulated by factors outside the local community or even outside the country in "desirable" (for the purposes of investment funds) urban areas. Countries around the world with devalued currencies, crime rings, and corrupt government officials are investing in US real estate - and Janet Yellen is keeping interest rates low to encourage them to do so in hopes that it "drives" the economy (even if construction jobs are temporary, they look like "job growth" so we can fake some sort of economic recovery). California in particular dropped almost all support for developing low-income housing and decided to court these outside investors instead: local communities were undermined by absentee landlords speculating on the properties beneath them. Rents soared. Property owners had put laws in place long ago to "phase out" rent control, and now these laws worked in favor of real estate commodity brokers. Since these schmucks have all the money, they stuff political coffers, form local shadow governments, and ram lobbyists in the way of any attempt to stop their windfall-grab.
Landlordism isn't what needs to change: this country's workforce is mobile - people still need to be able to rent a place to stay.
What needs to change is the underlying concept that Real Estate that is being used for rental housing is a "hot commodity" for speculators.
Rental housing should be treated as a vended service. It should be highly regulated with a minimal profit structure. Landlords may "revolt" at first and claim no will rent, and perhaps that means there should be a competing public option for rental housing. But eventually the psychology will change, and some landlords who want to make stable, rather than windfall, money in that particular business will choose to provide that service. That will simply become the way rental housing is provided, take it or leave it. This will be like employers having to follow OSHA safety rules or having to pay minimum wage or like public utilities not being allowed to charge infinite prices just because everyone needs heat and electricity. Sure everyone WANTS to make windfall profits if they can, but they shouldn't be doing it at the expense of human shelter.
And if private landlords can't or won't do it that way, then we do need to develop enough building unit housing for those who need to rent. At that point people in nice houses have no right to complain about the tall buildings that have to be built right next to them. Younger, mobile workers need a place to stay. Elderly folk who wish to remain independent but who could never afford to own a home need a place to stay. Disabled people who have always been on a fixed income and who could never afford to buy a house, need a place to stay. Tough cookies: if this can't be vended through private sector houses, it will have to be via units in buildings developed expressly for the purpose. I'm not a fan of that outcome, but that's the obvious outcome.
Most of all these changes to the Real Estate market need to be ON DECK NOW. Congress brought the Planned Parenthood issue to a vote within a month. The housing crisis has been going on for a couple of years. Why does taking action on that need so much "process"? Having now seen how fast our government can act when it wants to, I would like to see the Federal government enact some commodities rules for housing used as rentals and put in place an SEC-like body to address those issues NOW. I'd like to see the State of California act just as quickly to overturn Costa-Hawkins and Ellis Act evictions so cities with rent control will have the tools they need to protect the rent controlled housing they have left from speculators while they wait for better regulatory tools to come down the pipe.
And I would like Janet Yellen to come out and admit that though her policies may enrich Wall Street and somehow "create jobs", the resulting housing bubble also does a lot of harm, and she has had no suggestions as what to do about that.