Hacker News Reader

Would you rather more revenue, and deal with happy, and appreciative, tenants, or less revenue, more liability, and adversarial tenants?

View on HN

I agree, the core of the issue that real estate investors are incentivized to act this way. Whatever makes them more money is going to win every time, which is why when the things that make them the most money are pushing costs and problems onto the public (and the housing market in general) we need regulations put in place to restore order.

I imagine a lot of the problems could be improved with zoning changes limiting the amount of properties that can be rented out for short terms, and by shoring up tenants rights to cover gaps in protections for renters.

I'd suggest that regulation is typically the issue, and it is in the case too. Investing in real estate is not for everyone, and not just based on the merit of one as a landlord. Some states are complete nonstarters unless you can pay for influence.

The only legitimate role of the state is to defend the inalienable rights of the individual. They should not be interfering in contracts. This type of meddling overreach is usually the issue, but is always an issue. There are many consequences, both intended, and unintended, and recognized, and unrecognized.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com