[RHSeeger]

So, if I am going to live in an area for a year... I should be required to purchase a house, including all the money, time, and effort that involves? I would hate to live in a world where that was the case.

I have both owned and rented at different points in my life. There have been times where renting was a better choice for me, for a variety of reasons. I am glad that renting is an option.

[coding123]

In a world where there was no rentals there would probably be new things we can't imagine such as community ownerships. The specific thing that shouldn't exist - in parent commentors and myself is that the renter is paying money so that the actual owner pays off the property for their benefit, not the renter.

If some kind of community property system exists (not for ALL properties but a large number of them) then any rent you pay in say New York is also paying down a virtual mortgage you have the the "community" that spans the country. Like a virtual HOA.

[cleftie]

That's how it used to work in the UK with social housing. The local authority would collect the rent and it would be used for upkeep of the properties, with surplus going to other public works. This was set up in the decades following the Second World War as Britain rebuilt, and it generally worked really well.

But then a right-wing government came to power and sold most of the social housing off, while banning local authorities from building any more. So now, we have the situation here where the large majority of tenants are renting from private landlords, who are just pocketing all the rent for themselves and doing the bare minimum upkeep, while holding a rapidly appreciating asset.

Which is exactly what the right-wingers wanted, but of course doesn't help everyone else who isn't a landlord, and just wants somewhere decent and affordable to live.