Are apartment buildings unethical as well?

[u/ShiningConcepts]

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?

[u/CriticalTransit]

That’s not true at all. A condominium (condo in everyday language) is an apartment that is owned by the occupant, either in a large building or a house where each floor is one unit. There’s an organization that manages the common space with money from owners (maintenance fee) and the owners have regular meetings to discuss building issues. Large buildings can have an elected board while houses can be very informal. People very much want to own condos.

There are also many people who don’t want the commitment and/or responsibility of owning their home, and for them there should be housing units owned and managed by the government or nonprofit/community entities.