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Public-ownership rental as a third option to renting or owning a house

theatlantic.com

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Re: Public-ownership rental as a third option to renting or owning a house

#261
post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

HfH typically provides the mortgage with a 0% interest rate also. They are a tremendous program that should be scaled up.

All these programs that subsidize the cost of borrowing merely drive up the price of houses. This is why things like the mortgage interest deduction or zero percent financing are not in the long term interests of home buyers when they are "scaled up", and when they are niche programs they are basically a convoluted form of charity. There is nothing wrong with that, some people like their charities to be convoluted an…

This is why Phillips's full program is based on three tiers: supply (addressing the amount of housing available), security (tenants' rights), and subsidy (assistance to those with specific needs).

You need at least all three components. I'd suggest wage support (UBI / employer of last resort) being another leg that would help, given the relationship of rents and wages economically (wages tend to or below subsistence, rents to all consumer surplus).

But this seems a damned good start.

Re: Public-ownership rental as a third option to renting or owning a house

#262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Subsidies for historic populations without price controls would be a windfall for landlords How is it a windfall for landlords? If the rent prices are going up, they will be making the money regardless of whether the renter is paying for it or the government is paying for some of it. If your point is that a subsidy will shift demand and increase the price, that is exactly what we want! A price signal to the market…

Isn't it typically a windfall for richer people posing as poorer and clever poorer people for improved survival who can utilize or resell earmarked subsidies meant for extremely struggling people?

Welfare fraud is one of those instance of things where it is really salacious so people love reading about it in the media but is not actually that common.

Rent control laws are a different beast altogether because they are not means tested typically.

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