Post
by Allo V Psycho » Sat Sep 11, 2021 11:07 am
To be sure, Marx and Lenin weren't keen on the rentier class either. But perhaps the circumstances might be more complicated?
1) A couple own a house in Scotland, but one of them has to take a job in England. They decide to both move, in order to stay together. It is actually worth buying a house in that part of England rather than renting, but they intend to move back to Scotland when that job runs out/retirement. They rent out the house in Scotland (though the income is less than the mortgage, it still helps)
2) A woman wakes up one morning to find her husband dead in bed beside her. She feels unable to live in that house anymore, but it doesn't sell (partly due to the market, and partly due to a flood risk). She rents a small house nearby, but rents the original house to help cover the mortgage.
3) Following a bitter divorce, one partner is not able to live in a now empty house, and has to rent elsewhere, but is still liable for the mortgage. The house is put on the market, but doesn't sell. He rents out the house to help with the mortgage (though it doesn't cover it: local rents are lower than mortgages).
4) A person forms a new relationship, moves in with the new partner, and sells his house. He now has a reasonable cash sum, but with interest rates so low, he is losing money all the time, so feels he might need a safe investment to help support their future old age needs. He considers buying somewhere to let, with the long term aim of selling it when they need to support their elderly care.
All of these are true stories, happening within my family and close friends. But some of the proposals on the thread seem quite punitive towards 'landlords'. For instance giving tenants a 'right to buy' : what if the owner doesn't want to sell, for good reason, like example (1)? Who determines the market value of the property at that point? And with a discount? Where does the discount come from?
My point is that not all 'landlords' are evil profiteering rentiers - there are a range of circumstances that such legislation would have to cover , and it isn't simple. None of the house prices involved in these examples are huge, incidentally. These are houses in the North of England and Scotland, not flats in London.
I've rented seven times in my life. Only two were (probably) commercial 'rentier' owned (both in London) and their management was quite professional - problems dealt with and rents high but as agreed. The other five were 'small scale' owners, who I met and knew (and for one of them became friends with!). Again, there were no real problems. One had to give me two months notice, as she had managed to sell the house: I fully understand why.