The UK has completely abolished fees (I think) for tenants - I am a reluctant landlord - and I completely agree with that, the power asymmetry in finding housing is already bad enough without allowing blank-cheque negotiations. In my section of Germany, housing is even worse with rent caps and tenant rights, plus a lack of housing. Tenants are hard to move on, so landlords are painfully cautious about getting the rig…
Social housing in Germany is asinine. The government heavily co-finances new construction for a subset of flats being offered as affordable housing, but with a 30 year limit to these restrictions. It's a subsidy for the rich. You break even, and you get some very cheap real estate in 30 years. The government should've just done the construction itself. A lot of social housing is currently reaching that 30 year mark,…
This system isn't always managed as well as it could be — subsidized unit requirements are layered on top of that, and in St. Paul the payoff period is only thirty years, which has made some developers balk. The political factions often imagine all investors as good or bad instead of as a force that can be managed to achieve desired social outcomes.