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> The few of us who still remain in San Francisco have no choice but to live in sub-par conditions like mold, windows that don't shut, rodents and countless oth
by jlebar 12y ago
> The few of us who still remain in San Francisco have no choice but to live in sub-par conditions like mold, windows that don't shut, rodents and countless other issues because there is no other choice, because the rents are so high you can't move so you don't.
Yes. But the solution isn't more rent controls. That just increases the gap in price between market-rate apartments and rent-controlled apartments. This makes it even harder to move, and it further increases the incentives for landlords not to maintain their rent-controlled apartments or pull stunts like this.
The solution is to add supply to meet demand. We should be furious at the forces that have kept supply in SF so absurdly low.
- brc 12y agoThe rent control creates the mold and stuck windows. That's the point. Supply is the answer. You cannot increase the number of people living in a city without increasing housing stock. Build, build, build. It is the only answer.
- simoncion 12y agoI totally agree that SF needs to build like crazy. Every new residential construction that goes up fills me with a little joy. :) > The rent control creates the mold and stuck windows. That's the point. Bullshit. 1) Friends down the block from me live in a tall "market rate" tower that is in substantially poorer condition than the rent-controlled building that I call home. 2) In SF, stuck windows and mold are must-repair items for landlords, regardless of rent control status. If you as a tenant can't get satisfaction from your landlord, do the repair yourself and present him with a bill. The law guarantees that you'll be reimbursed in circumstances like these.
- sukilot 12y agoDo you think the landlords support supply expansion? Construction limits are neatly equivalent to rent control (in the other direction) for landlords.
- Aloisius 12y agoLandlords do not make up anywhere near a majority of voters in San Francisco. If renters wanted it, they could force the issue.