A comment by the urban politician, who is currently rehabbing a 2-flat on the northwest side:
Not everybody can lease out apartments that rent for $2000 per month. Some landlords have to serve a less affluent niche. So why not have a private solution to create apartments that rent for $500 per month?
Right now, I can’t lease my apartments for $500 per month Here is what the government does that prevents me from doing so:
1. A stringent building code that nitpicks me and forces me to do x, y, and z with my building at my expense while rehabbing the property
2. That same building department requires that I have a licensed plumber, licensed electrician, licensed mason, licensed architect (license=overpaid union member, of course) work on my building. A licensed plumber charges around $750 per fixture, just as an example
3. That same government charges a ridiculous property tax and assesses the value of my property at more than double what I paid for it
4. That same government regulates an electric company that is now going to increase its rates
5. That same government makes it a laborious, time consuming, and expensive process to remove a tenant who does not pay his rent, of course at my expense.
There are TONS of people out there who would love to rehab cheaper property and rent it out to the less affluent, if only the Government would make it possible. And all the while we would not have to expend a penny of the public’s money, as opposed to these housing projects.
Yes, by all means — why don’t we get rid of those constricting building codes, the ones that had to be put into place because slumlords let apartments decay in all sorts of ways, and because someone decided that without the imposition of rules and penalties, such abuses would continue. The same impulse led people to require licensed plumbers and electricians were on duty to make timely, effective repairs at said apartments.
I certainly don’t mean to say that The UP is a slumlord, or would be inclined toward such a thing. Some people were, and are, unfortunately. People always want to blame government for its “excesses” and restrictions. The blame lies with unscrupulous individuals of the past (and even present) who didn’t give a damn about human values, and just lined their pockets by any means necessary.
The UP is annoyed because it’s difficult to evict a non-paying tenant. Could it be that, prior to such standards, people could be tossed out for little or no reason? Again, the free market is great if everyone has an innate sense of fair play. Because lots of folks don’t, regulations have to be put into place.
All in all, it sounds like it’s best for the UP to stick to $2000 a month apartments, paid for by upper-middle-to-upper class individuals who are hard-working, pay the rent on time, and whose presence magically keeps repairs from being necessary.