- cross-posted to:
- brainworms@lemm.ee
- cross-posted to:
- brainworms@lemm.ee
Summary
The U.S. Justice Department, joined by 10 states, has sued six major landlords and RealPage, a company behind a rent-setting algorithm, accusing them of colluding to keep rents high by sharing sensitive pricing data and avoiding competition.
The landlords, operating over 1.3 million units, allegedly used RealPage’s algorithm and coordination to align rents, exacerbating the housing crisis.
One landlord has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
Critics argue this scheme worsens affordability issues for renters, who already face record rent burdens amid a strained housing market.
That’s the point. Keep you scrambling. Can’t stop grinding for the oligarchy and capitalism, or the next place you’ll be sleeping is the streets.
Although at some point landlords have to realize the ceiling so that they can continue to rent units, because empty units is them losing money.
But we either need caps based on median income of the area, or some kind of renter collective that says nobody is going to pay rent on units in this area over $X price.
What we need is monthly fines for unfilled units, which are proportional to the rate being charged for the unit.
The problem twofold. First, property has been skyrocketing in value lately. You can practically buy an apartment and sit on it empty for a few years and flip it for a profit. There is very little pressure to actually fill a unit. Second, there is no mechanism to drive prices down.
We need to build a system that allows the price to rise with inflation, but also to fall with availability and demand.
Fine landlords for unfilled units. The fine is a proportion of their highest advertised rate for that unit. Now they have an incentive to fill that unit, make deals, and lower the price. The fines they pay go directly to subsidizing rent payments for low income renters, now they have extra buying power to get an apartment and off the street. We need to build systems that self balance/regulate.
Oh sweet summer child.
There is no ceiling! If 10 of us poors need to cram into a studio apartment to make ends meet, what does the landlord and corporations care? The justice department is already suing (until the 20th) the largest rental companies for collusion and price fixing. They are using algorithms to decide their occupancy rates. Turns out 100% occupancy isn’t the most profitable. They need constant turn over in order to keep rasing rates. People have to live somewhere and if all the companies are using the same algorithm isn’t obvious that 100% occupancy isn’t wise.
I understand that, but at some point they will hit a number where people in the area can’t afford the 1st month (or more) down or even monthly payments. And landlords aren’t going to just start waiving the down payment or rent up front as this whole thing is about them using algorithms to maximize income. So there is a ceiling, but they can of course collude on what that is and all match that ceiling so that it’s the only option (which I assume is what happened here). If they can then cause turnover once tenants are in place by prices breaking that ceiling they can keep down payments for breaking lease, then drop the price back to that ceiling for the next victim, rinse and repeat.
I lived in a place where that happened. There were very obvious changes as the rent kept going up. (I stayed because everywhere else was going up just as much.)
None of that stopped the rent from going up. If anything, it went up faster.
People think too small when it comes to stuff like this. One individual land lord company doing this isn’t a big deal. But when you scale that up to a national level? We’re talking about millions of homes going empty, misused, and siphoned off for only greed.
this has already happened. google “homelessness”
Yes, but my point is that having empty units runs counter to the interests of landlords. Unless they can talk Trump’s regime into subsidizing them unhousing whole areas of people landlords still have a limit/ceiling on the amount of churn they can have and still rent units (make money).
It’s similar to the stories on Amazon not paying warehouse workers and working them like slaves, now their churn is so great they need to get robots because they are beginning to run out of bodies in areas.
Hey stop speculating and look up the case the DOJ made against them. And not just the cliffnotes. It explaines the practice way better than I could ever. But from what I remember the most profitable percentage of available units isn’t 0% but closer to 5%. Landlord companies don’t even need to do math and management of the housing; companies like Yardi and Rent Café does it all on their platform. One example was, a one year lease signed today is less valuable than a lease signed tomorrow or the next day… Due to inflation, scarcity, and all landlords playing the same game. Say I can rent out my apartment for $1000 a month today. But the Yardi algorithm says I can make $1100 a month if I wait 30 days to lease. Over the life of the lease I just made an extra $200 for nothing. Additionally you have one month less of potential maintenance. The algorithm knows how many leases in the area are ending and haven’t been renewed; how much housing is currently available; what businesses are opening up or closing down in the area; population growth/decline; and so many other data points that they know exactly how much to squeeze the population in any given area.
Housing is a human right. The only reason not everyone has it, is only because the wealthy and powerful want it that way for money.
your point is valid, but needs nuance. perhaps try:
what number defines “significant surplus” varies based on market but it’s higher than you are imagining i think? simply having some empty units does not make a surplus; most landlords are good enough at business to prevent their surplus from being too massive and keep their profits up.
But once they are getting enough money per apartment, having a few empty units doesn’t hurt them either. They do not have to operate at capacity to make a profit.
That’s probably advantageous for these giant companies as they can shoulder the losses with the volume of rentals they control. Mom and pop landlords might be forced to sell these properties due to the vacancies which means these large companies can swoop in, gobble these properties up, and keep raising rents.