There is a reason for everything, and if there is no reason to do something, most people will not do it. For example, if there is no incentive to motivate landlords to upkeep their property and make it the best it can be, they will left their properties at the lowest manageable state they can get away. Rent ceiling laws are an example of how lack of motivation and incentives can discourage people from making sure their best work and resources go into their product or whatever they are doing. These laws impose limitations on the amount landlords can charge their tenants for staying in their properties. This causes the landlords to lose the amount of money they should have made on their property, and the landlords will not be motivated to improve their property more than they need to because they will not get extra money for it.¬ Rent ceilings and rent control laws reduce the quality and quantity of houses available to consumers by replacing incentives with hurdles to landlords.
Motivation is a major factor in whether something gets accomplished. If a cadet is asked to volunteer 12 hours of his or her Saturday to help fold boxes, chances are the cadet will not want to volunteer. By adding incentives such as form 10s and performance passes as an award or tours and confinements as punishment for not complying, the chances of the cadet volunteering his or her time on that Saturday is greatly increased. This same principle applies to landlords with their rental property. Walter Block states that economists have shown rent control diverts new investment which would have gone towards rental housing. He goes on further by stating rent control has led to housing deterioration, fewer repairs, and less maintenance. Block claims the reasons...
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... of their income and background which landlords find preferable to the poorer people. The quality of the rental properties tend to diminish over time as landlords are not able to get the full value out of their homes due to rent ceilings. Due to lack of incentive, landlords let their properties deteriorate and neglect maintenance as it would cost them money which they would never get back.
Works Cited
Block, Walter. "Rent Control." Econlib.org. Library of Economics and Liberty, 2008. Web. 07 Dec. 2013.
"The High Cost of Rent Control." Www.nmhc.org. National Multi Housing Council, 2013. Web. 04 Dec. 2013.
Norcross, Eileen. "Rent Control Is the Real New York Scandal." Online.wsj.com. Wall Street Journal, 13 Sept. 2008. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.
Redmond, Tim. "San Francisco Bay Guardian." Http://www.sfbg.com/. San Francisco Bay Guardian, 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.
Gentrification is defined as the process by which the wealthy or upper middle class uproot poorer individuals through the renovation and rebuilding of poor neighborhoods. Many long-term residents find themselves no longer able to afford to live in an area, where the rent and property values are increasing. Gentrification is a very controversial topic, revealing both the positive and negative aspects of the process. Some of the more desirable outcomes include reduced crime rate, increased economic activity, and the building of new infrastructures. However, it is debated whether the negatives overwhelm the positive. An increase in the number of evictions of low-income families, often racial minorities can lead to a decline of diversity
Although every one are employed, at least some of the time, any one may often find it difficult to save enough money for a deposit on a rental property. As a consequence, some minimum-wage workers end up in living situations that are actually more pricey than a month-to-month rental. For instance, some minimum-wage workers rent rooms in week-to-week motels. According to Ehrenreich, “Given a few days or weeks more to look, maybe I could have done better. But the meter is running at the rate of $59 a day for my digs at the 6, which are resembling a Ballard creation more every day.” (Ehrenreich, 57) In other words, Ehrenreich knows these motel rooms tend to cost a much more than a traditional rental, but are accessible to the minimum-wage workers since a large deposit is not a requirement. If a person is unable or unwilling to pay for a room in a motel, some might live in his or her car, in a homeless shelter, or even on the street. Or as Morgan and his fiancee Alex, who settled on a $325 dollars a month in a renovated crack den (literally) that allowed them to pay the deposit over a few months, only with $300 dollars in savings, this was their best option. Minimum-wage workers who cannot afford a stable home, but might be able to afford a car, or vise versa, cannot afford a car, but be able to afford a house, adopt
One of the most prominent concerns of Evicted is the issue of inescapable financial instability as it relates to eviction. In the very first few pages of the book, Desmond reveals that the majority of poor renting families in America spend over 50% of their income on housing, with an even more astonishing one in four spending over 70% of their income on it (4). When families are spending the majority of their already meager income on housing alone, it is no surprise that they have little money left for savings or self-betterment programs such as a college education. Compounded with this is the fact that some welfare systems are constructed in a way that discourages long-term financial responsibility. For example, Supplemental Security Income, a program that provides monthly stipends for low-income elderly or disabled individuals, is revoked if individuals have too much money in their bank account (217). For
...t: How the lack of affordable housing impacts on all aspects of life [PDF] Available at Shelter website; england.shelter.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/268752/The_Human_Cost.pdf
Goering, John M., ed. Housing Desegregation and Federal Policy. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. 1986.
There are people in the neighborhoods that can enjoy the neighborhood enhancements because they know they can survive the inflation of their rent. There are people that are oblivious to the fact that their rent will increase a significant amount, because they are excited that there will be shiny new locations arriving in their area. Once their landlord explains to them that their rent will increase – in New York it could be up to fifty percent – they will be struck with the sad reality of gentrification. Gentrification is similar to other social issues, primarily in the fact that one does not think about the issue until it affects them.
Compare and contrast the ways in which housing inequalities are discussed from the perspectives of social policy and criminology, and economics (TMA 02)
The American dream was owning a house with a white picket fence. Now this dream is impossible. Individuals and families find it more difficult to find a decent home to rent in a suitable living area. According to Huffington Post, the hourly wage needed to afford a two bedroom apartment in California is at least $26 an hour. This is more than triple the minimum wage. Eviction, relocation, and inflation are the common keywords that associate with affordable housing. I 'm hoping to persuade you to support affordable housing for all. Today, I will be discussing, one, inflation of the housing market that needs to decrease, two, eviction from homes, three having to move to communities far from their work site.
It consistently affects the urban development of neighborhoods. Even though there are positives in gentrification such as social and economic development of communities but there are also negatives specifically lower income families are forced to move out of their homes because of high rent prices. This also causes people to become homeless because they can’t afford the newly inflated rent prices. In my opinion, I believe there should be some sort of system where apartments and houses are made based of what you can afford so families have places to live. Landlords shouldn’t raise their prices just so they can get people they desire to live in their homes. Even though it's understandable that landlords want to make more money but they shouldn’t force families out. There should only be a legitimate reason for families to be evicted out of their homes. Even though Gentrification has been around for a long time, hopefully there is some positive change in the
In my experience as a real estate sales representative, I have looked at many rental properties that are owned by people that are commonly known as slum lords. These units are in disrepair with leaks, mold, mildew, holes in walls, ceiling and poor floor coverings. Many people are afraid of pushing these issues to have repairs done as they might lose their shelter or their rent could be increased. There are people living in a rooms in a house, that are also at risk as they don’t realize they are not protected under the tenant act so the owners can remove them from their shelter without notice. I have also experienced people living in abandoned commercial buildings ...
When someone makes the decision to buy or rent a home they must consider the advantages and disadvantages of each. In buying a home the primary advantage is that you actually own it. You can do whatever you want with it. Also, you are building equity as the years go by. “People today have problems saving for their future” (CNN Money, 2014). However, when they buy a home, the money they put down for a down payment is an investment. When the person sells the home they get back the down payment and the amount the property has appreciated in value. When looking at the advantages of renting it is easy to see the disadvantages of buying for some people. Even though you don’t get the money back that you put into it, renting could be a more satisfying option for some. This is because renting allows for flexibility. The person can move wherever as soon as there lease is up. Renters may see buying as “a reduction in lifestyle, moving to a smaller place, and perhaps a less expensive neighborhood.” (CNN Money, 2014). For example someone who rents an apartment enjoys how the complex keeps up the area and all the amenities it has to offer, and it is in an upper class part of town. However, when they buy they looks all the benefits, they have to do maintenance themselves, and move to an area they don’t particularly like to fit their price range.
Since the mid-1970s, affordable housing has become increasingly difficult to find. This is because Americans are being asked to contribute more and more or their paychecks to their rent and when they become homeless it is difficult to get themselves back into affordable housing. It has been reported that “A full-time worker earning minimum wage cannot afford a one-bedroom unit priced at the Fair Market Rent anywhere in the United States. Nationally a full-time worker must earn $18.32 per hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment at Fair Market Rent.”(National low-income Housing Coalation 2010) Today, our federal minimum wages contributes to our increasing homeless population, while even if you work fulltime making $7.25 isnt even enough to get you off the street. In 1970 there was a...
In President Reagan's own words, homelessness is one problem that we have had, even in the best of times (Reagan). However, economic experts are all in consensus that this is the worse era for the housing market. One...
Marisco, Jennifer. "The Daily Caller." The Daily Caller. N.p., 26 Mar. 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
Sundquist, Eric J. King’s Dream. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009. United States. HUD.gov. -. History of Fair Housing.