Americans are paying hundreds more in rent | Hacker News Reader

Americans are paying hundreds more in rent

reuters.com

Given this is Hacker News, is there any way to "hack" the housing market to reduce costs?

Every hurdle I see seems to come back to a policy or regulatory issue. Whether it's increasing housing density, utilizing vacant spaces, or increasing transit to existing cultural/economic centers, the answer somehow requires the government.

It's not something I relish, but as I sit here tonight, I think of the rented RVs parked on the overpasses of Los Angeles. Is that model ripe for disruption? Housing not tied to real estate. Could Adam Neumann buy enough chic RVs and parking garages and make a business out of it? I think if you had enough runway, you could get the momentum, and if a city government pitched a fit, you could move out the RVs (and young professionals), and still own the parking garage. Nomadland as a service.

I hope the work of urbanists like Strong Towns makes this a non-issue. But if anyone has any other radical housing ideas that don't involve getting a government on board, I'd love to hear them.

Didn’t you just reinvent the trailer park? What you’re describing sounds like an urban trailer park, and that sounds less than great.

Trailer parks have prefabricated housing rather than true trailers. These prefabs can technically be moved, but not easily or cheaply, essentially tying them to the lot. RVs can be moved easily and cheaply.

So no, this is not exactly a trailer park because it separates housing from the real estate.

I'm not pitching the RV Parking Garage concept as an ideal or even plausible solution, but as an example of a way to disrupt the housing market in developed metros.

My goal is to hear some other ideas to decrease average rents while requiring little to no government/regulatory involvement.

> requiring little to no government/regulatory involvement

I think you lose this battle as soon as you start providing residences to people. I’m not a lawyer, but I’m pretty sure that once people are living and sleeping somewhere you’re subject to zoning laws and fire codes and stuff.

With that said, the current housing situation in the US is a mess, so I’m all for reform. I’d like to hear ideas too. I personally can’t think of a solution that sidesteps regulation without becoming a slum full of desperate people, though.

Those desperate people are who most need help. Maybe improving the quality of life in "slums" is where the hacking should take place. But those improvements typically leads to gentrification and higher average rents.

Is there a way to hack governmental reform? Maybe an organization that hires lawyers to find weak zoning laws in jurisdictions where a challenge is likely to succeed, and then tests those laws in court? (Now I've reinvented a thinktank.)

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