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Why would rents rise if there’s nobody to pay the higher rent? Rent has been increasing because there is a bidding war among potential renters. Lack of housing

Why would rents rise if there’s nobody to pay the higher rent? Rent has been increasing because there is a bidding war among potential renters. Lack of housing in general is what causes a lack of affordable housing.

tpxl 5y ago
Because when your rent rises you don't go homeless, you pony up.
- jfoster 5y ago
  Or you move to something that better fits your budget. At least, if there's sufficient supply you will.
  - Broken_Hippo 5y ago
    Not if you are poor enough. Moving costs money too. Suddenly, not only are you on the hood for the increased rent where you are, but now you gotta pay another months rent in addition to deposits (not everywhere charges last month's rent upfront). And it isn't just housing: You might have to pay a deposit for utilities (for example) especially if they weren't in your name previously. And then there are logistics of actually getting your stuff to the new place. You might have to leave some things behind. And over the next couple of months, you'll probably have things like connection fees for water and electricity. If you are really lucky, you'll get deposits back to help with this. All this assumes you weren't already living in a crappy, low-rent apartment too. Sometimes, there isn't much to choose from. Enough affordable housing is only part of the issue.
  - wonderwonder 5y ago
    There is a level at which you are too poor to move. You cant afford first and last months deposit. You cant afford a moving truck. You cant afford whatever required deposits may exist for heating, electricity, gas, etc. There are a lot of families that exist in this zone. Not too mention a lot of people are tied to a location due to the availability of free childcare via a relative.
- afarrell 5y ago
  Or your background level of life stress increases and you are 2% more likely to escape from it with vodka and then fall into a spiral of alcoholism.
- kortilla 5y ago
  Why don’t landlords just raise the rent to $10k/mo everywhere then? If everyone just pays it seems like a surefire win.
  - ttyprintk 5y ago
    Some municipalities mandate growth rates on residential leases be capped (say, 12%). If as a landlord you took the chance and overpriced your property, it might sit empty, and the kind of tenant who eventually takes it is the kind of tenant who will find a better deal once they have the time to look around. And leases are contracts, so they have lag times before the rules change for any individual renter.

tpxl 5y ago

Because when your rent rises you don't go homeless, you pony up.

jfoster 5y ago
Or you move to something that better fits your budget. At least, if there's sufficient supply you will.
- Broken_Hippo 5y ago
  Not if you are poor enough. Moving costs money too. Suddenly, not only are you on the hood for the increased rent where you are, but now you gotta pay another months rent in addition to deposits (not everywhere charges last month's rent upfront). And it isn't just housing: You might have to pay a deposit for utilities (for example) especially if they weren't in your name previously. And then there are logistics of actually getting your stuff to the new place. You might have to leave some things behind. And over the next couple of months, you'll probably have things like connection fees for water and electricity. If you are really lucky, you'll get deposits back to help with this. All this assumes you weren't already living in a crappy, low-rent apartment too. Sometimes, there isn't much to choose from. Enough affordable housing is only part of the issue.
- wonderwonder 5y ago
  There is a level at which you are too poor to move. You cant afford first and last months deposit. You cant afford a moving truck. You cant afford whatever required deposits may exist for heating, electricity, gas, etc. There are a lot of families that exist in this zone. Not too mention a lot of people are tied to a location due to the availability of free childcare via a relative.
afarrell 5y ago
Or your background level of life stress increases and you are 2% more likely to escape from it with vodka and then fall into a spiral of alcoholism.
kortilla 5y ago
Why don’t landlords just raise the rent to $10k/mo everywhere then? If everyone just pays it seems like a surefire win.
- ttyprintk 5y ago
  Some municipalities mandate growth rates on residential leases be capped (say, 12%). If as a landlord you took the chance and overpriced your property, it might sit empty, and the kind of tenant who eventually takes it is the kind of tenant who will find a better deal once they have the time to look around. And leases are contracts, so they have lag times before the rules change for any individual renter.