Gentrification

[Ocean Seal]

So I was wondering if anyone knew anything about housing in the United States. How does it work exactly. Are buildings sold and rent is raised by the new owner with the residents kicked out? This seems like it lacks details. I know its fomented by suburban money, but how exactly is it accomplished.

[Dagoth Ur]

It really depends on what state you are in and even then often what city you live in within that state. But usually what happens is buildings are sold, or just trying to attract rich people, so they start being jerk landlords (kicking people out over trivial things like having a cat, being a week late on rent, or whatever else they want to use as an excuse). The holdouts are either bought out or die.

Also gentrification causes all prices in a neighborhood to rise. So the people who could just afford to live in certain buildings are edged out by this probably the most.

[Loony Le Fist]

So I was wondering if anyone knew anything about housing in the United States. How does it work exactly. Are buildings sold and rent is raised by the new owner with the residents kicked out? This seems like it lacks details. I know its fomented by suburban money, but how exactly is it accomplished.

There's different things that can happen really. Sometimes the existing occupants or the owner of the property is offered a substantial sum to sell. In that case the occupant-owners leave, or the new owners raise the rent to make it unaffordable to the existing occupants. Sometimes the rent is raised on vacant apartments as old tenants leave so the new occupants have to pay more.

In more extreme cases the municipal government actually uses eminent domain powers to take the property (compensating the original owners) and hand it over the private developers. Then the same procedures as above are followed.

[theblackmask]

What is happening alot, especially in San Francisco, is that rent control laws are actually being used for gentrification. Laws like the OMI and the Ellis act essentially allow for landlords to sidestep rent control.

The Ellis Act makes it so that rent cannot be raised within 5 years of a property becoming vacant. So, what many landlords have done is simply evict entire properties, then convert them to condos or houses for 5 years. After that period, they are allowed to then go back to renting the property at whatever rate they see fit.