Sure. Is this a bad thing? That's how most social housing in the UK worked until a decade or two ago. The home I grew up in was rented by my parents for over

Sure. Is this a bad thing? That's how most social housing in the UK worked until a decade or two ago. The home I grew up in was rented by my parents for over 20 years, they basically treated it as if they owned it. We bought it recently because this may change at some point in the future. Practically other than the rent not existing nothing changes. The model of a home as being this ephemeral thing that you just sort of occupy for a bit and then move on to the next town isn't one that most people actually want. It's prevalent on Hacker News because there are a ton of people here with no family, no plans to form a family, and for whom moving around often for work is normal. Which is fine, but it's not representative of the general population.