Because market forces work much better with food. We generally have actual free choice when it comes to groceries.
That's.odd....some.fellow.lefties.were.just.telling.me.that.
Walmart.has.eliminated.much.choice.&.that.the.poor.have.
no.grocery.stores.near.them.
As.for.choice.&.market.forces...you're.wrong...Landlords.
compete.with.each.other...Prices.rise.&.fall.with.market.
&.costs,eg,utilities,property.taxes,maintenance,etc.
Perhaps.landlords.should.get.those.things.for.free.
Maintenance.workers.should.work.for.free.too.
demand.
If I usually shop at store X but store Y has a sale on bread, I don't need to break my arrangement with store X (at my cost); I just go and shop at store Y without any penalty. I can even go back to store X next week... again, without any penalty or extra cost.
The.rental.market.works.the.same.way...If.you.want.no.obligation,
that.option.exists.in.the.short.term.rental.market...One.typically.
pays.more.for.this.because.turnover.is.costly....Longer.leases.
benefit.both.landlord.&.tenant.in.many.many.cases.
Also, the landlord still owns the asset. Even if a tenant is living rent-free temporarily, the landlord still owns the building and can still look forward to the day that they sell it at a profit (which usually makes up a significant part of the landlord's expected ROI).
Rental.properties.have.operating.costs....If.the.landlord.doesn't
recover.those.capital.gains.don't.offset.them...And.what.if.the.
landlord.doesn't.want.to.sell.
Clearly,someone.has.no.experience.with.the.economics.of.it.
To make an analogy with equities: a tenant living rent-free would be like dealing with a dividend cut for a while (which happens). A shopper getting groceries for free would be like confiscating shares.
Who.pays.for.insurance.property.taxes,maintenance.replacements,
depreciation,&.utilities?..And.I.suppose.you.don't.believe.landlords.
are.entitled.to.be.able.to.make.loan.payments,eh.
Edit: so when tenants can:
- Duck out on their lease without any penalty, moving cost, or inconvenience (including non-monetary penalties, like having to switch their kids' schools),
- Go live somewhere else for a few weeks because it's cheaper, AND
- Move back to a guaranteed vacancy in their old apartment and get the same deal they had before (or better)
... then a comparison to groceries would be reasonable.
But.the.grocer.gets.to.keep.the.building...The.farmer.gets.to.keep.
the.land.used.for.crops....The.grocer.&.farmer.can.make.their.money
by.selling.their.properties...Why.should.anyone.pay.for.groceries?
Hey.if.there's.no.profit.in.operating.rental.property....in.fact.you'd
want.an.operating.loss....why.would.the.price.of.an.unproductive.
asset.increase.at.all?...Why.build.anything.in.the.first.place.eh.