• Grayox@lemmy.mlOP
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    1 year ago

    Bruh the water fountain in the gym at my apartment complex has been broke for over a year, with 2 different owners who have both refused to fix it lmao. They provide a service that should be a human right, and i fail to see how increasing the supply would mediate this exploitation of something people need to survive. Lol

    • R0cket_M00se@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Ours just has a sign that says “taken offline due to covid” and the gym was down for maintenance for a month and they only fixed one out of like seven issues.

      These broken items have been broken for three years but the leasing office claims maintenance is done every six months.

    • cadekat@pawb.social
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      1 year ago

      If there were more available units, you could leave and go to one with better maintenance. There’d be actual competition between landlords to keep tenants.

      Not ideal, obviously, since moving is a pretty big life event. I’m not saying increasing supply is the solution to every problem with landlords. Being allowed to withhold partial rent if common elements are broken would probably be a better solution in this particular instance.

      • Grayox@lemmy.mlOP
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        1 year ago

        Bruh I’m in a rent controlled unit, i had to jump through a shit ton of hoops to get approved for, I ain’t goin Knowhere till I no longer qualify for this unit. What you are recommending is the equivalent of a bandaid solution for a wound that needs a tourniquet…

        • trailing9@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          With competition, other units will be cheaper. Units will be rented for production costs. Competition is not a bandaid but the solution.

          • Grayox@lemmy.mlOP
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            1 year ago

            Lmao you can’t be serious?! Where is this competition right now and why aren’t they completing currently competing?

            • trailing9@lemmy.ml
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              1 year ago

              There are many obstacles like complex building codes, limited supply of building sites, credit requirements or limited public transport. Reduce them, respectively increase public transport, and more people have an opportunity to spend their money on real estate with the expectation of profits.

                • trailing9@lemmy.ml
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                  1 year ago

                  Who should create real estate without profits?

                  If you supply housing as a government service, construction workers will play the same games as defence contractors. Do you expect rent to be cheaper?

                  What’s wrong with profits? They compensate for the risk and effort that comes with creating real estate. They are only too high when there is no competition.

                  If profits are too high, what is preventing you from creating a new house and be rewarded with those profits? Change the world so that you, and thus others, have the ability to participate. Then housing prices will be fair.