Kate Carey wrote: "Is there a law about how much a tenants rent can be raised and how often?"
No, but there should be. What percentage increase per year is reasonable? Fifty? One hundred? Thirty-three and a third? Fifteen? We as a city can and should have this discussion. And then we should put some controls on rent. We can accommodate small landowners while defending against large firms buying numerous properties and simultaneously raising the cost of living for an entire neighborhood. Some questions for the landowners on this list: what is the highest percent by which you have increased the rent for your properties within one year? What is the highest percent increase you can imagine having to implement? Under what circumstances would you consider this increase necessary? In my opinion, having lived through the late nineties as a renter in this town, "what the market will bear" is unbearable. Shelter is a basic human need, and a humane society would see it as a basic human right. We must admit that the free market does not protect and serve the populace in situations where a) the commodity is necessary to survival and b) the free choice of the consumer is constrained by the difficulty of "switching services." Changing one's residency to find the best deal (as theoretical capitalism expects an intelligent consumer to do) is completely unlike buying the cheaper bag of potatoes at the store. Moving is time-consuming, stressful and financially difficult. All the hallmarks of an unlikely behavior for those in poverty - especially those working full-time-plus hours. Add in the fact that the very behavior theoretical capitalism expects of intelligent consumers - moving often - is frowned upon by landowners and can limit choice further. What you get out of this equation is exactly what we've got: a poor, marginalized population suffering at the caprice of an inhumane system. Protecting the public is the role of government. It's time for some reasonable rent control. So let's start throwing those numbers out. Twelve? Seventy-seven? Fifty-eight and a half? Robin Garwood Seward _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
