I regularly hear about how we need to change zoning laws to allow for more apartments to be built in single family homes zoning areas. I understand what zoning in but I’m confused what the case is for the change to the zoning.
I absolutely agree that housing prices are absurd but wouldn’t building more apartments just put more money/control in landlords/investment companies? I hear all the time that buying property is the best way to generate wealth for your family and that’s not to mention you can’t get evicted from stupid reasons if it’s your own home. The same people who seem to push for changing zoning laws seem to be very vocal about how so many people are trapped in cycles that makes it difficult to escape poverty (I do agree with that)
So can anyone explain how building more apartments wouldn’t be a Faustian bargain in the long run?
Edit: Thanks for all the responses, replying here as there’s too many helpful comments. I felt like I was just not getting it but most answers seem to confirm what I suspected. I know in my city apartment=renting while Condo=owning (usually) a part of a shared wall home that has a smaller size than most SFHs.
I wonder if the zoning could be adjusted to encourage more ownership rather than incentivizing more rentals. Perhaps having SFH zoning be redefined as owner-occupied zoning so you could have more density but it couldn’t be used as a rental scheme. You could also make allowances for “smallish” businesses near the various major crossroads.
I would think this would be something that nimby’s would be more ok with since in my own experience I feel more invested in taking care of my house/neighborhood than I ever did in all the years I spent renting
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It’s not just apartment buildings.
In addition to single-family homes, there’s 2-4 unit housing — duplex, triplex and quadplex where it’s all one parcel, all purchased as a single unit, but it has up to 4 separate living spaces, allowing for both owner-occupancy and tenants, or multigenerational housing where an extended family can live together to share expenses but still have separate living spaces.
There’s also accessory dwelling units, usually a small completely separate structure at the back of the lot or incorporated into a detached garage, which can be rented out or used as a “mother-in-law suite.” A big advantage of ADUs is that, unlike a multiplex where the units tend to be of similar size, ADUs tend to be a lot smaller than the main dwelling, so if the ADU is being rented out you have two families on the same lot of different socioeconomic statuses.
One of the problems driving “raise the minimum wage” and it’s evil flipside “nobody wants to work” is that people working high rent jobs still need grocery stores and restaurants and such but housing prices in high rent areas are, well, high. So low rent workers are squeezed out of living sustainably near their jobs. ADUs alleviate this problem by providing low rent housing in high rent areas.
There’s also Condos which are kind of like apartments but each apartment is actually a fully titled piece of property that you can own. Ownership is typically “walls in” and there’s a separate condo association that you must join and pay into to handles maintaining the building itself as well as the lot. And townhomes which are kind of like multiplexes but each dwelling is individually titled and they have certain shared wall responsibilities. Condos typically go vertically while townhomes go horizontally (though the difference is in who owns the dirt — a condo association owns the dirt while with a townhome the homeowner owns the dirt) – but either way you can fit more units in the same space when compared to single family homes even though all three methods have individual unit ownership.
There’s also mixed development, like housing over shops. Usually it’s a condo situation but it can just be straight up both owned on the same title and the homeowner rents out the shop or the shopowner rents out the home – though historically the resident and shopkeep were the same person. Or more separated mixed developments with light commercial and small offices mixed in with homes all on separate lots. You obviously don’t really want industrial or shopping malls in the middle of a neighborhood, but shops that serve the local community are surprisingly unwelcome in the local community in many zoning districts.
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