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movdqa t1_j65fzo5 wrote

I rented in my early 20s for about 7 years. First was a sublet from a friend, then he got back together with his wife so then a sublet from a guy he knew. Then a roomshare agreement. And then into corporate rentals where you did the annual rent dance. And you had to be prepared to move. But the economy was in the dumps back then and it was easier to negotiate. Then we bought our home after the housing market crashed.

I don't know what you can do with a relative supply shortage and corporations squeezing households other than change the laws on ownership.

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lendluke t1_j6cp7ok wrote

How about change laws on building new construction?

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movdqa t1_j6cs0el wrote

Are you talking about zoning or code?

Code upgrades add to cost but I do think that they benefit in terms of safety. I recently had to replace a hot water heater and there was some solder that was melted off the top. The hot water heater is in a very tight space and we barely got by on code the last time we replaced it by going to a lower capacity unit. We would have had to upgrade the chimney diameter which would have meant making larger holes through ceilings, floors and roof. The plumbing company would only replace with an electric unit which required an additional circuit so it cost a few bucks to do. If I were a landlord, I'd have to pass this cost on - and stuff like this happens from time to time. You don't have to get up to code until you need to replace something or want to uprade something and then find out there there's a big cost to doing so.

On zoning? Sure. In my town, it's pretty easy to build something. I've watched many planning board meetings and the builders usually run roughshod over abutters. We have three large, new rental complexes that look pretty close to finished and at least one under construction. One of them looks like luxury apartments but I'm not sure of the others. I'm curious as to how quickly they will fill up. These things have been in progress for quite some time.

What specifically are you looking for on changing laws for new construction?

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