[tikhonj]

The part about higher taxes for people renting property out seems to amount to yet another subsidy for home ownership over renting—which is not obviously a good thing. A tax just on properties that are unused (ie not owner-occupied or rented) makes more sense to me.

[pbhjpbhj]

How about "rented by a local landlord with a small number of properties" to get a similar discount? This would also seem to attack the problems of limited property supply allowing the bourgeoisie to profit without work and of a lot of local money moving away because of property ownership by distant entities. Reasonable?

[kbenson]

Or allow deductions from this tax for landlords paying for maintenance or improvements, and an exemption if you can show that all maintenance requests were acted on within 30 days and resolved within 90 days (for those that keep their rentals in good shape). I think that might aim it more squarely at slumlords.

[toomanybeersies]

Is there no requirement for timely repairs in the USA (or at least in some states)?

Here in New Zealand, I can hand my landlord a 14 day notice to remedy, and if they don't fix the problem within 14 days (or at least start remedying, if it's a larger problem), then I can take them to the Tenancy Tribunal, where they can be ordered to, and sometimes even get fined punitive damages.

The same works the other way. If I leave the house in an unsatisfactory condition (e.g. not cleaning the property, not keeping the garden under control), then I can be given notice to remedy and taken to the tribunal if I don't fix it.

It's a win-win system, both parties can take action against the other for problems. The tribunal is not meant to be biased towards the landlord or the tenant (although in practice they tend to side with the tenant a bit more), and is a neutral third party. They usually try mediation first, before actually ordering people to do anything.

[TheSpiceIsLife]

A step further here in Australia, or at least in South Australia where I used to live - not sure about the other states...

If an essential service breaks (toilet, hot water system, plumbing, gas leak) and the landlord doesn't have it remedied in reasonable time frame, you can pay for the remedy and issue an invoice to the landlord (in practice you can withhold the same amount from rent).

Worded thusly: organise to have urgent problems fixed and give the landlord an invoice from an authorised repairer. A licensed professional must do the repairs and provide a report that states the cause of the problem and the work carried out.

A landlord may be breaking the conditions of an agreement if they learn of a problem and don't repair it within a reasonable time.[1]

I firmly believe this is how it should be, and that any reasonable person would agree this is fare.

1. https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/housing/renting-and-letting/ren...

[TheSpiceIsLife]

I live in Tasmania now, and yes, the equivalent legislation exists here too[1]

1. http://tutas.org.au/factsheet/repairs-maintenance/

[nommm-nommm]

No there is strong requirements for timely repairs in the US. They are all just local laws so they are varied by location. Landlord tenant laws are usually in favor of the tenant. In some places you can withhold rent until repairs are made. Enforcement can be an issue though and tenants may not know their rights. Not sure.of any state has a Tenancy Tribunal equivalent.

Anyway I am not aware of anywhere in the US where being a slumlord is actually legal or even being a semi-slumlord.

30 days for a maintenance request is absurd, well depending on the request, I guess.