That's a simplistic view that doesn't take into account property prices; not every landlord has owned property since the beginning of time, taking advantage of

That's a simplistic view that doesn't take into account property prices; not every landlord has owned property since the beginning of time, taking advantage of price increases. Imagine a retired teacher who decides to rent out a garage apartment to supplement her pension - is she taking advantage of 'inflated rents' if the rent amount barely covers a proportional amount of the mortgage? Additionally, landlords have to pay 'inflated property taxes', 'inflated utilities', and 'inflated garbage service' - these aren't discretionary costs for a property owner unless you advocate letting people stay in their apartments, but without landlord contributions to water, heat, cooling, garbage.