Why build-to-rent could be the best fix to the housing crisis

https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/why-build-to-rent-could-be-the-best-fix-to-the-housing-crisis-20230707-p5dmj4.html

10 points · 6 comments · view on lemmy.world

6 Comments

kd637_mi@lemmy.sdf.org · 19 pts · 3y (2 replies)

If it has to be build to rent, I would rather the housing be publicly owned. I'm not really a fan of media spruiking how good corporate dominance over more of our lives is.

For all the shit people give commie blocks, I would much rather a stable commie block to live in that I know I won't have to move from than the constant anxiety of whether I will have to find a new home for my family.

quicken@aussie.zone · 1 pts · 3y

I would rather the housing be publicly owned

I agree. Everyone seems to ignore there's no motivation for investors to make homes for the poor. They're all fighting over the "higher margin" investments.

w2qw@aussie.zone · -2 pts · 3y

I think the advantage of doing it privately is that some company is footing the bill if there's structural issues and that the government doesn't need to issue more debt.

sphere_au@reddthat.com · 8 pts · 3y (2 replies)

Corporate landlords come with their pluses and minuses for renters. In Berlin, the big corporates became dominant and hiked rents up to unreasonable levels, forcing a union-like response from residents:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvzqaz/the-inside-story-of-how-berlin-took-on-corporate-landlords-and-won

And there is still a shortage of flats to rent in Berlin (actually much worse than Melbourne/Sydney)... go figure.

Railison@aussie.zone · 2 pts · 3y

This is where we need good and strong regulation, especially when it relates to something as essential as where people live.

w2qw@aussie.zone · 1 pts · 3y

Did anything actually happen as a result of that?