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In NYC people with rent controlled apartments just hang on to them forever and/or sublet them. So I'm always dubious about that as a solution.
There was an interesting Will Self doc. on R4 about planning and the Garden City. It seems like we need something similar now, or at least similarly creative.
hugo7
I think the problem is that all that is good is getting concentrated in cities and - funnily enough - you can't build enough housing to make it cheap for the entire population to live in them. Supply meet demand. Fix that problem, distribute good stuff around a bit so that not everyone has to live where everyone else wants to, and the rental market might sort itself out a bit, at least cost wise to tenants. I don't think rent caps are the answer, neither do I think a mega 'National Rental Homes' is either. The former would result in the capped properties being immediately filled and humongous waiting lists, those lucky enough to get one through the virtue of nothing but being first in the queue. The later being too big to give a shit about the people it would supposedly provide a service for.