That would be a reasonable conclusion if time wasn't a factor. Imagine if Joe Taxi Driver moved in when he could afford rent, and then the price of housing tri

That would be a reasonable conclusion if time wasn't a factor. Imagine if Joe Taxi Driver moved in when he could afford rent, and then the price of housing tripled in two years. Now, Joe's new roommates expect to pay 3x what Joe's old roommates paid. Additionally, Joe has far less housing security - he cannot move, even if he get's a 50% increase on his taxi receipts, he still can no longer afford market-rate rent. It's unclear if Joe is now 'leveraging the fact that he cannot be evicted' because the cost of eviction is so high, and his 'aggressive rent-seeking behavior' is now merely an effort to make a little extra money on the moral hazard that has been dropped into his lap.