[dllthomas]

The shortest answer, of course, is competition.

One thing to note is that we're not really constrained on "places to live". We're much more constrained on "places to live that are nice enough and close enough to ways of making enough money." A UBI directly increases our supply of "places that are close enough to ways of making enough money."

Also bear in mind that landlords aren't competing just with identical units, but also with alternative living arrangements. If landlords charge more, I save more if I live with a roommate or stay with my parents.