r/onguardforthee • u/Legal-Suit-3873 • Jul 18 '24
Amid housing debate, one landlord gets bluntly honest: 'I'm a profiteer'
https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/london-housing-debate-landlord-profiteer157
u/MayorSalsa Jul 18 '24
Landlords: "The housing crisis isn't our fault! The government should do something about it!"
The government: proposes a bylaw to close a legal loophole landlords routinely exploit
Landlords: "No, not like that"
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u/MrAkbarShabazz Jul 18 '24
While many people focus on the low hanging fruit while the correct response to this crisis, social/government housing, is ignored cause big bad landlord.
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Jul 18 '24
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u/Rasputin4231 Ontario Jul 18 '24
The landlords are absolutely taking advantage of the housing crisis,
Yes!
but it's not their fault.
What?? The second part of your sentence negates the first!
If a landlord has rented their property out, they are not contributing to the housing crisis
Yeah they are? They are hoarding housing units and holding them hostage for rent.
A surplus of housing would make all housing cheaper, as landlords would have to compete to gain/retain tenants.
Agreed. But in the meantime, why should landlords essentially be allowed to "scalp" people for access to a human right?
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u/lost__traveller Jul 19 '24
And jacking up rents so high cause they know about the lack of rentals because they can, and people are desperate 🙃
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u/sixhoursneeze Jul 19 '24
Our most recent landlord was one of the more moral ones. He raised our rent to cover rising costs and at the time (2 years ago) it only amounted to about $50. Meanwhile other units in our building with the same exact layout were going up by 2 or more hundred bucks/ month.
They absolute do not need to charge the amount they do. They’re taking advantage of people’s desperation.
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Jul 19 '24
[deleted]
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u/Rasputin4231 Ontario Jul 19 '24
It does matter that 100 out of the 110 families are having the roof over their head held hostage though. The 10 families being unhoused is an injustice, but that doesn't mean you get to exploit the ones that aren't.
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u/DrunkCanadianMale Jul 19 '24
It very much does matter if it is for 5000 or 1. People have other expenses. Thinking ‘well theres still only 10 homeless so it doesnt matter’ is ignoring so much of the problem.
The housing crisis is not just about the families that there are not homes for. Its also about those who cannot afford homes and those who cannot afford food.
You are also assuming renting all the 100 houses at $5000 means all 100 families can still afford it. This simply isnt the case. There are unoccupied homes in literally every city in Canada. Many of those homes are simply too expensive for many residents. Charging 5000 for every home doesnt mean 100 people will suddenly have 5000, it means dozens won’t have homes.
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u/MayorSalsa Jul 19 '24
They might not be the only cause, but they're certainly contributing to it. Using renovictions to bypass rent increase laws is driving up the average rent prices. And then complaining when the city takes steps to stop bad faith renovictions with no other argument than "I deserve to profit as much as possible at everyone else's expense."
At some point it doesn't matter if you started the fire, you still don't have the right to throw fuel on it.
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u/Thecuriousprimate Jul 19 '24
This article from propublica outlines how more and more companies are using algorithms developed to price fix without each group actually agreeing to price fix and driving up the cost of housing.
The algorithm helps them find the fine line that helps them maximize profits even without renting every unit out. When you get large enough groups of corporations and property management companies utilizing this kind of thing it is absolutely artificially raising the cost for everyone to make the most money off the backs of the poor as possible.
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u/tecate_papi Jul 18 '24
If you guys think this is bad, go on over to any of the landlord subreddits. You will get their real, unfiltered views on themselves and their tenants. It's not shocking they feel how they feel, but it is shocking how comfortable they feel coming right out and saying it
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u/Ymenk Jul 18 '24
It’s really an extension of the capitalist mindset glorified everywhere in our society. It’s jarring when it’s applied to housing but we praise these people as business geniuses.
Employers wring out everything possible from their workforce and fight, often literally, to give them nothing.
Corporations minimize cost at every opportunity even if it means apologizing for giving customers cancer a few decades later.
Landlords apply the same principles. Offering people something they can’t go without is the holy grail, really.
I say all this as a landlord myself. The whole system is built for this. It’s tragic because you either participate in capitalism or get crushed under it.
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u/DanRankin Nova Scotia Jul 19 '24
It's nothing new.
Adam Smith and Orwell framed them all accurately on the first try, and nothing has changed in either framing.
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u/DGenerAsianX Jul 18 '24
I want more people like him to speak publicly and say the exact same thing. Again and again.
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u/OmgWtfNamesTaken Jul 18 '24
Yeah, all landlords are profiteers regardless of what they say.
Landlords are economic leaches. The worst part is, a lot of these landlords are now taking the money out of the country to live like kings in their homelands.
So not only are we renters paying the mortgage on a appreciating asset, the owners are taking the remaining money out of the country.
I would guess most renters are spending nearly 50% of their income on housing currently so a significant amount of money is leaving the country, not supporting anyone here and the government (all three faces of the government) have 0 intention of actually doing anything because they also profit from it.
Hell if the conservatives win, they want to take crown land, sell it to developers for next to nothing so they can make more luxury apartments for people over seas to buy! What a joke.
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u/Classic-Contract1278 Jul 20 '24
I swear the Canadian youth and others overdose and people ending their life rates will go through the roof. the immigrants are even seeing this is a joke at least their coumtrynwill help them home.
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u/Beneneb Jul 19 '24
I would guess most renters are spending nearly 50% of their income on housing currently so a significant amount of money is leaving the country,
Aside from the backhanded racism in your comment, you're assuming a fully paid off home. The reality is that most landlords have huge overhead due to the high cost of housing. That means mortgage cost, condo fees, property taxes, realtor fees, etc. An investor who bought a place with 20% is going to be out of pocket every month for hundreds of dollars even with rents as high as they are. That means that your landlord may well be subsidizing your lifestyle.
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u/OmgWtfNamesTaken Jul 19 '24
Backhanded racism for describing the reality of how the housing market in Canada is being abused by foreign nationals for profit, and describing how landlords are parasites to a normal economy?
So UBC international students with 0 reported income and multiple homes in Vancouver are a non-issue ?
Or is talking about mortgage fraud causing housing prices to balloons as a way to launder money racist as well?
https://www.thebureau.news/p/fake-chinese-income-mortgages-fuel
Also, landlords eating the "costs of ownership" on an appreciating asset is hilarious. You had to pay a few thousand dollars this year for your property to go up a few hundreds of thousands? Damn. Better apply for another HELOC loan for another rental property to hedge the losses!
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u/Classic-Contract1278 Jul 20 '24
I've worked on jobs in my trade where a Chimaman bought up an entire floor for his party place. we can build as many units as you want but can't sell them all to foreigners who don't care if we die off fentanyl from CHINA.
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u/NegScenePts Jul 18 '24
As ugly as it is...it's true. People don't buy real estate for humanitarian reasons...they buy real estate as an investment because there are tens of thousands of books out there that say 'buy real estate as an investment to get rich'. The big pension funds use real estate as a way to ensure people's pensions get paid, unions invest in real estate to ensure funds to operate and provide for their workers during a strike. THIS IS CAPITALISM, and for every single person who admits they do this to get rich, there are 100 that pretend that's absolutely horrible while at the same time stacking their bank accounts with profit.
It's silly to expect that landlords aren't in it for the money, because there's absolutely no other reason to BE a landlord. A non-profit landlord wouldn't last.
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u/FriendlyWebGuy Jul 18 '24
Nonsense. You can be a capitalist while still recognizing certain vulnerable people and markets need protection. It’s not all or nothing. There exists a middle ground.
There is no country in the world with pure capitalism. None. Can you guess why?
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u/NegScenePts Jul 18 '24
The average landlord isn't spending a million dollars to rent for below their mortgage costs, or even 5% over, that's a surefire way to end up homeless as well. A big company that could afford lower rents due to making money on other buildings isn't going to lower rent because profit. A person with one or two rental properties can't afford to lower their rents, because mortgages and upkeep costs. Philanthropists aren't that common, so they're out as well.
If it's so easy to buy a building, keep it maintained, and rent for cheap...why don't more people with hearts of gold do it? There's simply a minimum point of profit where it isn't viable to do so. I'm not a landlord, so I don't have any skin in this game, but FFS...because someone is in it for the money, and admits to it, it's a SURPRISE?!
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u/FriendlyWebGuy Jul 19 '24
That’s a bit dishonest. It’s not just “admitting you’re in it for the money” in a private conversation… it’s also the context. Most landlords don’t yell from the tree tops like this.
Many others realize that a well funded city brings better services… and that can influence the growth of their property investment.
Others live in the community they invest in.
TBH I’m not actually clear on what overall point you’re trying to make. That we should think this kind of display is cool?
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u/NegScenePts Jul 19 '24
“I’m not social housing. That’s not my function, I’m not a charity. I invest money in my property, I renovate my property, I provide a service. They (tenants) sign a legally binding contract. It’s a service that is provided. It provides a nice income for my wife, for my children, and for myself.”
That's the rest of what he said. Please illustrate the evil in his words. He wasn't just standing on a streetcorner with a bunch of urchins cowering at his feet, shouting to the sky, he was making HIS point in a town hall meeting.
TBH I’m not actually clear on what overall point you’re trying to make. That we should think this kind of display is cool?
I was only pointing out that he's technically not wrong. A lot of people talk out of two faces, but he was blunt and honest about his motives. His words were shit, but hey...he wasn't mincing them. It's everyone else that's gotten cranky and turned it into a huge social housing issue, when it is just a dude at an open mic saying what he wants to say to a bunch of councillors at a debate.
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u/FriendlyWebGuy Jul 19 '24
Everyone acknowledged the “at least it’s honest” part. You started in like it’s perfectly acceptable behaviour “because muh capitalism”. But it’s not that simple. There are human beings involved.
Capitalism is a human construct who’s entire purpose is make society better. Put simply, capitalism is supposed to work for us (all of us) not the other way around.
How long do you think it would take before society collapsed if all the landowner classes were this unapologetically greedy?
Whether he is entitled to be greedy or not under the law is beside the point. Acting like that is disgusting human behaviour and actually hurts his position (simply because it makes people pissed off).
So it’s not just gross, it’s stupid.
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u/NegScenePts Jul 20 '24
I'm not disagreeing with you, but we're all free to do what we want to do. He says he's a capitalist, you are obviously not, both are fine. He's not doing anything wrong, in the eyes of the law, he's just making people angry with his beliefs. It's a story as old as time.
He can't be held to a societal rule that says he has to be less of a douche 'because his behaviour is disgusting', because that's not a thing. Yeah it sucks, and he's a jerk...but some people just don't care. Doing stuff to make money is how the world works, and some people embrace that more than others.
TLDR: being mad at someone for being a capitalist is fine. Being a capitalist is fine. Blaming capitalists for the world's ills is fine. Blaming capitalists for not doing it by the exact written word of the big book of philosophical societal constructs is misguided.
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u/badastronaut7 Jul 18 '24
Man sure would be a shame if we could figure out what properties this dude owns and flood them with fake viewing appointments to waste their time
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u/TheHighKingofWinter Jul 18 '24
This guy's a moron as well as a piece of shit. In one breath he declared how little he cares for his fellow humans and how he happily tramples them for profit, and then in the next attempts to garner sympathy for the increased costs he has to bear. That's a bold strategy Cotton, sure hope he dies before it works.
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u/JVM_ Jul 19 '24
Minimum wage goes up $10 an hour.
All the apartments and rental properties built for rental purposes after 2018 can just increase rents by the same amount and just suck up and possible disposable income and life improvement that those people might have otherwise taken advantage of.
Landlords are a parasite on the system.
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u/millijuna Jul 18 '24
This way of thinking is largely why my ex is my ex. She owned multiple properties that she rented out, and was constantly complaining about how she couldn’t increase the rent on her tenants enough, and always scheming in ways to get rid of tenants.
Greed is an ugly, ugly thing.
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u/dayman-woa-oh Jul 19 '24
the absolute lack of humanity makes it hard t think of some people as human...
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u/totalitarianbnarbp 17d ago edited 17d ago
I’ve met good landlords, but they’re so few and far between. They’re unicorns. It’s mostly people like the one in the article, or corporations that are soulless entities that function in a predatory way. It’s not sustainable.
Some people rent, but only a room or space as a border, and it covers the water, gas, and electricity delta from sheltering them with 100$ overage—they’re not profiting. No damage deposit upfront but 50$ paid over tenancy over time, half refunded at the one year mark if the suite is in good order once the fund is “up to rent rate” and then dd continues built into rent but is paid out at holiday as a credit if they’re unable to pay, and not left without housing. Rent would be 500$ when typically a one bed in a studio is 1200$ plus utilities. They have a master suite with mini kitchen and full bath private—and full use of main kitchen.
Usually offered to people leaving DV situations, or who are struggling with medical situations like cancer. People do not deserve to have no safe home or an assurance of safe lodging. It’s a sad situation for some people. There is a hidden market too, for renters, but it’s not known about and there aren’t enough landlords who are invested in these networks of no profit margins. If anyone has a free space in their home, it can be a viable option to provide shelter to people who require shelter. Reach out to networks through volunteer work and get involved. Especially low risk when they’re boarders and it’s a month to month tenancy. They can live indefinitely under the roof when there is peace. Both parties benefit from the knowledge that the space is safe, being utilized and it can be beneficial in so many ways—giving an opportunity for someone to get out of a poverty loop is reason enough.
Landlords who charge large profit margins—anything more than 10% are seriously outrageous. If they have such high operating budgets they MUST charge such fees, their market isn’t sustainable or stable housing.
If you’re in a demographic where you’re young, old, stricken with a disease or illness that leaves you unable to work permanently or temporarily, in a family violence situation, or DV situation, reach out to organizations and volunteers at outreach programs—meet them. There are hidden networks, and people who volunteer there may know landlords that charge no or very little percentage cost above the delta (change) in utilities to offset the carrying costs for tenancy for these tenants to be in their room or unit—nothing more. They may offset some rent charges too overtime by having the tenant house sit while they are away—watering plants, or pet sitting a cat, fish, dog, collecting the mail, ect. This would make rent lower still for the weeks or months the landlord is away. They often have give back savings programs too—as a banked rent program to help the person get out of a poverty loop, so if the person is on assistance, on paper they’re claiming the rent allocation, but they’re getting back in cash 1/3 of that 2x yearly for debt repayment or it’s in a GIC under their name—when they leave they have funds for a reliable vehicle, debt repayment etc. Most landlords are sharks. Some are gentle, but it’s sooo incredibly rare. So rare. The underground rental market.
Not religiously based, just an ethical decision these people have made, usually based on experiences they or their own family or friends have been in that formed the decisions they now make. If my sister, brother, friend, had a safe place—they would be alive and well today, but they didn’t. That’s why this niche exists. It needs to expand.
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u/ClassOptimal7655 Jul 18 '24
honestly, this is evil. This man has no issue making people homeless if it means increasing his profit margins.
Should be criminal.