[andyzweb]

Maybe not bought but we rented a house where the owner padlocked 2 bedrooms shut and said if we wanted to use them it was an extra $200 a month to use them as home offices.

[gambiting]

That's......beyond dumb. Like, if you don't pay him the extra $200, he's not extracting any extra value from these bedrooms. It's not like they can be rented to someone else in the meantime. So.....why do it in the first place?

[ghaff]

A bit weird but there's at least an argument that there's some wear and tear associated with using the rooms and, presumably, the landlord thought that the slightly cheaper/smaller apartment--with a possible upsell--was more rentable.

[jaywalk]

If the rooms aren't used, they won't experience any wear and tear and they won't have to be cleaned again for the next renters.

[jtbayly]

Because he doesn’t lose anything, but has the possibility of gaining something.

[yardie]

He's definitely losing something. Property taxes are based on area and number of rooms. They could have found a tenant looking for the right number of rooms in their budget.

[jtbayly]

Or he advertised 1, 2, and 3 BR and took the first that came along.

You are assuming demand is equal for all of those. It might be in some places, but not others.

[adolph]

Unused capacity might be claimed as a business loss?