Any commodization of a necessary resource for living is inherently unethical. I know this isn't a popular opinion on HN, but I need you to think about this not as the property owner but as the tenant
With food the question is less about the individual stocks of produce and more about the land occupied to generate it and who owns it, which in a distressing amount of cases is single large landowners
If you own the building and live in one of the units the, in my opinion, most ethical course of action that still benefitted you would be to sell the remaining units to the current tenants or even better, if they've been living there long enough, treat their total rent paid as payment for the unit
The lot is zoned for 14 units, has 4 currently. If we give the 2 other families that live here a few hundred thousand dollar entitlement it will never be developed.
Your proposal is insane. They've paid 600 dollars (rent control) a month for (let's say) 10 years. 60k buy in for a quarter of a 1.2m dollar property? I'd take that deal as a renter.
That's why I said if the tenant has been there for a sufficient time. If they have covered the unit's cost, plus maintenance, they have effectively paid for all the owner's expenses. Shouldn't it be enough to effectively own the property they actually live in?
No, they took on zero risk to be in that position.
If my tenants lose their jobs they get six months free rent while I go through the eviction process. If I lose my job and can't get another I have to sell my property for a six figure loss.
I can make this property a single family home or I can make it available to other people as housing that they can't afford to buy outright. I don't understand the landlord hate. They can pool money, form an LLC, and buy a property if they want a tennant in commons situation. They can take on the risk and do the work.
There's no sense in arguing about it if you're a landlord, you have a monetary interest in the housing market staying this way and your relationship with your tenants is inherently adversarial