this post was submitted on 27 Jul 2025
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How do people still argue that landlords are useful and necessary?
By being landlords or personally knowing landlords.
I swear my uncle is a good landlord. Keeps prices low, I swear he doesn't rip off his renters. He would never do that.
If there were as many good landlords as I have heard this story we wouldn't have any problems Kyle, sit the fuck back down.
Assuming this comment isn't ironic: there is no such thing as a good landlord. Landlords are parasitic middlemen who live by leeching off the value created by workers. They contribute no value whatsoever.
This is admitted even in mainstream economics, its termed rent-seeking.
Cool story bro
I don't think I could rip off anyone if I decided to rent my place when I move. Hoping to keep it for my kid, but I'd basically charge the bare minimum, would even show the tenant what I pay as the owner so they'd understand. I wouldn't use it as a profit source, but because land is scarce and I just happen to have spent years owning this.
But even then it may not be worth, sell it to a new owner and move on. I'm not greedy by any means, just want to be comfortable.
It would still be someone else paying you to keep your properties value up while receiving nothing of value for their money. You wouldn't be on the same level as an intentionally evil landlord. Just be aware that you would still be siphoning money from a worker into your pocket.
I posted elsewhere in this thread, some people want to rent. There is a market for legit renters without ripping them off. If it costs $2800 for my mortgage/hoa/utilities and I only charge $2800, I don't see an issue. Any issues are coming out of my pocket at that price.
I don't even know if I want to rent to someone, that's a whole other set of headaches. I'd probably offer it to my kid, then move on. It's not an income to me, but property is hard to come by, I would have to think about it. I've already paid into it, banks got their share, I went through a lot of trouble to get it, so it's not like giving away tickets to a concert I couldn't make.
Also I wouldn't be "siphoning" anything, I'm renting what I own, just like toro car rentals. No one is making them do it. But my location is very great, near public transit, near two very recently built town centers, trails, lakes, etc. it's not like they're paying for a tent. Can move here for a year or so and find out it's exactly what they want or what they hate.
I live with my elderly parents, taking care of them until they move into a nursing home or worse (although I'm not sure death is actually worse than a nursing home). In the meantime, I bought myself a small house nearby that I'm renovating and I plan to move there after I close out my parents' house. I'm genuinely terrified of renting it out after having put so much time and effort into it. A lot of people rent in this neighborhood and I've seen firsthand what some tenants do to places.
But if I do rent it out, I'm a shitty scumlord? I'm a better person if I don't rent it?
this is my issue too. clearly the collective "landlord" that people are talking about are people that hoard homes and rent them out as an income. thats a bit much. but someone who just rents a single property, maybe in the city nearby where they used to live before they moved to a quieter area, i don't see as an issue. a condo in a city could be a great place for a person to rent while they decide if that city is for them, or until their career takes them elsewhere. i don't see renting as a problem
the problem in my opinion is these properties being bought up by corporations who follow no real set of laws and gouge renters in shitty apartments, coorborate with other apt buildings and price fix the area. that is a problem to me. renting from an older person or family who very possibly lived in the home you're going to rent, so fucking what. do it or don't, but don't lump them in with corporation owned apt complexes and actual slumlords.
My parents own multiple rental properties and completely straight face told me it's a charity cause they rent to people who can't afford homes.
Meanwhile I'm engaging with my mutual aid group every week handing out about 400 meals, and survival gear for people who can't afford anything.
Glad their fucking charity has turned enough profit to pay off the rentals, their main home, and their vacation spot though. /s
The people saying that are usually hoping to become landlords themselves.
I just found an article (from 1955) by my grandma where she argued that she prefers renting over building a house because she has more freedom that way. She can move more easily because she doesn't have to find a buyer for her house, she doesn't have to worry about something breaking because that's on the landlord to fix and she doesn't have to go into debt to live somewhere.
As far as I know she never owned a home, always rented. But all her kids bought houses.
Sure, but it sounds like she’s never been evicted for no reason.
And her rent probably didn't take 100 hours of labor a month.
I had a coworker liked that. He enjoyed renting because it meant having fewer responsibilities.
I disagreed, and countered that renting means being more dependent on somebody else. Some landlords are excellent at responding to repair calls, but there are so many more that will leave you hanging for an indetermined amount of time, while leaks continue or appliances break. Personally, I'd rather not have the quality of life in my own home be dependent on someone who doesn't really care about me.
Sadly, I don't have much of a choice. I would prefer being able to pick my own repair people or just fix simple things myself. Alas, like so many others, I work full time but remain stuck in the rent trap. So much for freedom.
One of my coworkers said the same thing. After the third time they were forced to move they caved and bought a condo.
One of my big concerns is that access to psychological benefits of keeping a pet gets to be gatekept by the whims of someone else.
They kinda are necessary, given how they're the byproduct of capitalism's private property model and its commodification.
You could technically remove them by having the state manage all the housing, but that's overly idealistic given how that'd go against the ruling class interests which would cause heavy lobbying by big landowners. It would also make the state a monopoly landowner which would have its own implications.
In other words, they're necessary not because they're useful, but because of how dogshit the system is.
But but who will extract the remaining surplus value that the employers missed?
People? Like IRL? I've only ever seen it happen online.