What about the landlords that bought property twenty years ago, when prices weren't going up? What's their excuse? --- Their excuse is that they, as landlords

What about the landlords that bought property twenty years ago, when prices weren't going up? What's their excuse? --- Their excuse is that they, as landlords, will charge as much for rent as they get away with, regardless of what their expenses may or may not be. Two identical apartments, owned by two different landlords, one of which costs its owner ~$1000/month, and the other ~$1,500/month will both be rented out for essentially the same price. There's no need to spill ink on moralizing and justifying why rent's going up. It's going up because you (or someone else) has the money to pay for it to go up, and because you have limited alternatives.