How about we just do away with landlords entirely and make every property by default mortgagable so that apartment dwellers at minimum wage can still recoup some of their monthly housing costs when selling the apartment. There’s no reason this can’t be done. Most cheap old low-end apartments are worth relatively little (dependent on location and other factors, but still). If the market was flooded with them due to redistribution of shelter and an end to landlording, the prices would drop much further, potentially making theoretical down payments comparable with the first month’s rent + damage deposit. With the added bonus that no one steals your monthly payments. Housing co-ops are also great. There’s just no reason for landlords to exist. Shelter is a human right, and there’s no reason for a renting class to exist except to serve the interests of private landlords and enable the existence of a permanently impoverished working class.
How about we just do away with landlords entirely and make every property by default mortgagable so that apartment dwellers at minimum wage can still recoup some of their monthly housing costs when selling the apartment. There’s no reason this can’t be done. Most cheap old low-end apartments are worth relatively little (dependent on location and other factors, but still). If the market was flooded with them due to redistribution of shelter and an end to landlording, the prices would drop much further, potentially making theoretical down payments comparable with the first month’s rent + damage deposit. With the added bonus that no one steals your monthly payments. Housing co-ops are also great. There’s just no reason for landlords to exist. Shelter is a human right, and there’s no reason for a renting class to exist except to serve the interests of private landlords and enable the existence of a permanently impoverished working class.