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Fine them all you like - the result of this will be less affordable housing. Landlords who don't want to invest in or can't afford the upkeep will simply sell t
by trentnix 9y ago
Fine them all you like - the result of this will be less affordable housing. Landlords who don't want to invest in or can't afford the upkeep will simply sell to someone who will.
And with that investment comes a more attractive property which commands a higher rent. And that means the housing becomes less affordable for the low-income renters.
- grogenaut 9y agoYou must live in SF or on a coast to think there is an infinite pool of richer tennants that you could upgrade and sell to.
- trentnix 9y agoWell it's what's happened here in Dallas. Housing is cheap in areas nowhere wants to live whether that be because of location or blight or demographics. It doesn't matter. It's more expensive in places where everyone wants to live. Improving housing makes that housing more attractive. There's no escaping the economics of it no matter how hard you govern it.
- TheCoelacanth 9y agoSo a major city with a strong economy has a stronger housing market than a suburb in the middle of nowhere with a weak economy? Shocking.
- jimmywanger 9y agoZoning laws are mostly to blame for lack of affordable housing. That, and the usage of houses as an investment. When you spruce up a house, that attracts different renters. The other renters will take up housing otherwise they wouldn't have bothered with, and it goes on down the ladder. The argument that market rate housing causes lack of affordable housing is just not true. Look at San Francisco. They have strict zoning laws, laws against construction of market rate housing, and rent control laws. Is it a paradise for low-income renters?
- southphillyman 9y agoIn the landlord business properties are given a letter grade based on rent potential, neighborhood, area schools, etc. These are likely C and D properties and in the due diligence phrase the current rents will be revealed. Improvements to a property in a low income/low rent area destroys cash flow since the ceiling on rents is only so much given the area. A "good landlord" probably isn't going to touch these with a 10 foot pole.
- astura 9y agoIt seems obvious that a well taken care of home costs more ('less affordable') than a poorly taken care of home? So your solution is keep the place a dump to keep housing costs low?
- trentnix 9y agoI'm just pointing at that the proposed solution won't have the desired effects. If you want to get people in better housing, the real solutions require changing and influencing the people, not the housing.