this post was submitted on 27 Feb 2024
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There should be no rent - housing is a human right, and there is enough to go around, people shouldn't be allowed to own more than they could reasonably use.
The piece I don't understand from this idea is: who will pay for the investment in building the housing, then?
Communal co-op housing is likely a better model, but it only works with government-subsidized low-interest-rate loans. Without those programs, who's going to put down the $500K it takes to build the home in the first place?
Until our capitalist system changes, I don't know how to square that circle.
Social housing is where it's at! Local government builds the houses, and maintains ownership of them, but rents them out at what is essentially a relatively nominal figure that covers maintenance, admin costs, etc. Everybody that needs a home is guaranteed to get one, and the tenancy is guaranteed to last as long as they need it.
There are many European countries where social housing works very, very well, without those countries not having capitalism. It just requires governments that can be held to account when they don't provide enough housing. This is why social housing floundered in the UK compared to other European countries: a rigged voting system meant it became harder to evict the pro-landlord Conservative party.
Housing is a human right, so give everyone UBI and offer social housing for a fixed proportion of that UBI that leaves enough for a very basic life (as in "homemade bread and water and enough to replace the cheapest of furniture when it breaks" basic, not "can't go on holiday to somewhere warm this year" basic)
If you want something better and have the skills to get it then you can earn it and supplement your UBI, but nobody goes hungry or without a house. With free college tuition, you can even spend your days studying instead of working so you don't starve, so it's not like there's an argument against it there.
I can't think of anything fairer... If you wanna own more than you need, go for it, but in doing so don't make people literally homeless