Quote:
Originally Posted by Nehkara
Rents doubling overnight is ridiculous. I am not saying Landlords shouldn't be able to capitlize on their investment but gouging should not be allowed.
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The actual amount of that happening is very very low, and in cases where it does happen it is often a case of a) a landlord trying to get rid of a tenant, the courts are heavily favoured to the tenants and getting rid of a problem is very tough, so jack up the rent and they'll leave by themselves or b) rents that have been artifically low, place changes ownership, and rents increase.. but going from $500 to $1000 sounds horrible, but in a market where the average is $1200 all of a sudden doesn't sound so bad.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nehkara
Lost money? I have a hard time believing that. Maybe they only just broke even, but I doubt they lost money.
Now they are probably mostly making a fortune off of people who now struggle to get by.
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I know many people that have been on the loss side of their properties for a while until recently. Rents in Calgary were almost totally flat for quite a long time, it's only been the past few years that rents have finally gone up to match the demand.
And most landlords aren't cackling evilly over their ill got profits, costs for landlords have skyrocketed as well. Utilities, any kind of trades for repairs, that kind of thing is way more expensive.
Not all landlords are gems, but most just honestly want a decent return on their investment. It's not my direct responsibility to provide housing for the people who are struggling (though I do believe it is my indirect responsibility, but that's through taxes, government programs, etc).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nehkara
Rent control is certainly not a fix all, I guess I am just really frustrated.
There needs to be a fix now as the labour shortage is becoming a big problem.
I believe the government's affordable housing initiative is pretty weak and should be pushed harder if they want to make a difference soon.
I guess I just want more to be done by a very very rich government.
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That I totally agree with. But we already are adding more people than the province can handle (which is why rents are so high). We need more places for people to live, which means capital investment, which means there has to be a good reason for companies and investors to build... If there's no reasonable expectation of a return, then no one will build. And as was pointed out, those that do own will simply convert their units to condos and sell them.
I agree with Jiri, there's lots of options, including moving out of the city. That's just the reality of the changes that are happening.
If the government wants to get involved in it, do it from the other end. Subsidize the rent of low income earners to make up the difference for short term help.
Long term, increase the number of rental units overall. Give people incentive to build rental buildings. Establish the rules for basement suites and above-garage suites so that they are safe for tenants, and explicit so that landlords can comply with them. Because basement suites are such and underground thing right now, horrible dangerous units get rented out all the time but no one complains because they're scared to lose their own safe units. Establish the guidelines, set the code requirements, increase the zoning, etc..