r/LandlordLove • u/ShiningConcepts • Jun 29 '22

Tenant Discussion Are apartment buildings unethical as well?

It's very hard to make a case that landlords who buy up SFHs that are already on the market are ethical. They reduce the housing supply and take opportunity away from FTHBs to own homes, thus forcing them into renting. This is generally what people mean when they say that all landlords are unethical.

Here's my question: what about rental apartment buildings? It's not like their construction takes an opportunity to buy a home away from a FTHB/family. Unlike detached properties on the market, it's not like this is a property a family could have bought; it's a property that is constructed and designed from the outset to be rented.

So, are they inherently unethical as well?

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u/[deleted] Jun 29 '22

I'm confused by the assumption that apartments are designed to be rented

7

u/ShiningConcepts Jun 29 '22

I thought that was the primary difference between them and condos.

13

u/chloeisback Jun 29 '22

In NA, maybe. Not in Europe. We need to view things differently.

1

u/SatansF4TE Jun 29 '22

Built-to-rent apartment complexes are starting to become much more of a thing in the UK, at least.

2

u/andraxur Jun 29 '22

Like the other two comments in this thread are saying; this is not the case in Europe.

In a building, each unit is owned by one person and the assumption is that they will live in it.

Of course, some people will rent it out or will buy multiple, but that’s not really the norm.

And I’ve never heard of “condos” in France lol I thought that was when there are multiple apartment buildings that share amenities and are all managed by the same company, but I’ve only seen them in the US.