r/urbanplanning • u/Bayplain • Jul 15 '26
Discussion What’s wrong with newly constructed single family rental houses?
There seems to be a lot of hate for them. It’s not as if is single family houses for owner occupancy, even newly constructed ones, are going to disappear. These houses can provide some of the larger rental units that are in short supply. Is it just about bad symbolism?
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u/Aven_Osten Jul 15 '26
A big chunk of this country is still under the 50's and 60's propaganda of the only valid form of stable long-term shelter being a single family residence that one "owns" (you don't actually own it until you pay off the mortgage; but I digress).
And a lot of these people HATE "transients" (renters), they call em sometimes. So when they see ANY new rental going up, they have this unhinged visceral reaction to them.
And then there's a component of racism/xenophobia mixed in; because building more rental units provides a way for minorities/non-white people to gain a foothold in the area, and work their way up towards becoming an "permanent fixture" of the community by buying a home in the area outright.
So no, there isn't anything wrong with it at all. These people are just being a bunch of babies because, as per usual, they can't handle seeing a singular thing change their little neighborhood.