• sugar_in_your_tea
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    7 months ago

    Like anything else, there’s a ton of variation in quality. Finding a good landlord is just as important as finding a good apartment. Talk to the other tenants before signing anything, look up reviews, etc.

    I’ve had pretty good luck, probably because I do my own due diligence. Good landlords exist.

    • Breezy@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      7 months ago

      You sound like you blame renters for choosing shitty landlords when there is no way to verify who is or isn’t a good landlord.

      • sugar_in_your_tea
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        arrow-down
        3
        ·
        7 months ago

        There’s a difference between blaming renters and suggesting that renters could do a better job. I outlined specific ways I’ve used to avoid bad landlords: ask tenants and look up online reviews.

        Bad landlords should certainly be held accountable by the law. However, that honestly isn’t very practical because your average tenant doesn’t want to be a part of that drama, so they’re more likely to just deal with a bad landlord and vent on social media or whatever.

        My whole point here is that good landlords exist and they can be found, it may just take some extra effort on the renter’s part to find them.

        • Breezy@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          7 months ago

          So you’re like some paid itern at a housing company. Because you just come off as a shill whos willimg to over look people’s life’s going to shit.

          • sugar_in_your_tea
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            edit-2
            7 months ago

            It’s just that I don’t think the high cost of housing is purely the landlord’s fault, that’s just shooting the messenger. The actual reasons vary by area, but I think they can be broken down into a few categories:

            • zoning laws favor low density housing, even in urban areas - we need more mixed use and high density zoning
            • poor transit increases the cost of travel to urban areas - you either need to make enough to live local, or make enough to commute in
            • lack of housing supply - partially due to the above, and partially due to the still-recovering housing market after supply got disrupted
            • higher demand - it seems since COVID, more people want to live on their own, which means more people looking for housing, and thus higher rents

            Landlords are only relevant to the final point. They still are relevant, and there should probably be some changes to local landlording laws in many areas, but they’re not the biggest cause for problems.

            • Breezy@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              7 months ago

              What are you going on about… it has been shown that landlords have been artificially raising rent for nothing other then pure greed which hurts every day people and only benefits the rich.

              • sugar_in_your_tea
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                1
                arrow-down
                1
                ·
                7 months ago

                They’re a business, so they’ll charge what the market will bear. Forcing them to take less profits will lead to less pressure to produce more housing, which hurts the supply problem.

                Look at places like San Francisco that have rent controls, zoning laws prevent new housing construction, and limits on profits discourage investors from pushing to change those zoning laws. They also encourage people to keep their housing, since leaving then vacant may be preferable to getting a new lease if they need to leave the area for a while.

                The proper solution to greed is to increase competition. For the housing market, that means zoning changes to promote higher density zoning paired with transit, and restrict new lower density housing. That way more people can actually use transit routes, which means less need for roads, which means more room for housing in cities and less tax dollars spent on maintenance.

                • Breezy@lemmy.world
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  1
                  ·
                  7 months ago

                  No dude high rent is bad for almost everyone. People cant buy houses because most of them are owned by big corporations that squeeze every cent out of people.

                  • sugar_in_your_tea
                    link
                    fedilink
                    arrow-up
                    1
                    ·
                    7 months ago

                    I agree, I’m just saying attacking landlords is attacking symptoms, not the root cause. The root cause is lack of supply for affordable homes, and that’s a more complex issue largely stemming from COVID-related supply disruptions.