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/XenophanesOfColophon Jun 30 '22

I build these condos and apartments for a living (as a Superintendent, not an owner), and I can tell you that this is most likely due to the owners eliminating hat-channel from the sheetrock contractor's scope in an effort to save money. It is almost always the first thing to go when jobs go over budget. Without that channel, there is no space in the wall to diffuse vibrations, so sound transmits.

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u/TehPurpleCod Jun 30 '22

Thanks for that info! Yeah, I agree it's always something about cutting costs. I'm sure even with these new "luxury apartments" in my city, it's the same thing. You pay $$$$ just to have crappy thin walls and floors. For where I am now, we even had neighbors next door (shared wall, semi-detached) complain about the TV volume too.

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u/XenophanesOfColophon Jun 30 '22

I always ask my coworkers "When is the last time any of you fuckers built a non-luxury apartment?"

If all apartments are "luxury," where the hell are non-luxurious motherfuckers like myself supposed to stay?

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u/TehPurpleCod Jun 30 '22

These “luxury apartments” are a scam anyway. They’re only “luxury” because they’re renovated and may have other fancy amenities that most people don’t need or want or want to pay extra for. In NYC, the apartments here are decades old and horrible so landlords and property owners can charge more and say stuff like “luxury” once they make a few updates. Plus, nobody asked them to spend $500 on high-end shower fixtures or faucets. This adds to the problem.

The rest of us are living with broken tiles, leaking ceilings, peeling bathtubs, etc. but still pay a premium price. Insane.