[wyager]

> than have a full-time tenant (that has a lot of legal protection regarding eviction)

This sounds like a pretty convincing argument against laws that are extremely lopsided in favor of tenants. If you make renting out property an extremely high-risk proposition, of course property owners are going to prefer something less risky.

[Raed667]

I have to disagree there.

Feeling safe in your rented apartment from unjustified evictions, doubling rent without notice, or landlord trespassing etc.. is an absolute must.

[wyager]

I am safer from all of those things living in a ~completely deregulated housing market than I ever was living in the highly regulated NYC housing market. I couldn't change my apartment keys in NY, but that's expected here in Hong Kong. And how do you define "unjustified eviction"? The criteria for eviction and rent changes are clearly spelled out in the 2 or 3 page contract I signed for my apartment here, unlike the multi-hundred-page legalese nightmare I signed in NYC (once again, thanks to the overbearing "tenant protection" laws).