
Map Lets You Report Landlords Using Tech to Screw over Tenants - sharkweek
https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/wxqkqb/this-map-lets-you-report-landlords-using-tech-to-screw-over-tenants
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samcheng
Pretty sure a lot of these landlords are deploying technology in a bid to
compete for tenants, not screw them over. For example, an app-based (or even
biometric) entry system reduces the number of times I get locked out after
forgetting my keys. Smart locks let me open the door remotely for a
housekeeper or maintenance person. Tenant screening technology is really no
different from the credit report that landlords run already.

Tenants have substantial legal protections, which have been extended further
during COVID-19. As such, it does feel like the balance of power is shifting
toward tenants, not away from them.

There are definitely crappy landlords out there, but IMO identifying them from
their crappy behavior, rather than their investment into technology, is a
better mechanism.

Has anyone built a Yelp for apartment buildings?

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fragmede
Why not both? Digital-only locks mean that the landlord can lock you out of
your own apartment without having to send a maintenance person around and hope
you're not at home to argue with.

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samcheng
That sounds like an illegal eviction to me. Even in the event of a court-
ordered eviction, the landlord is required to give you access to your
possessions.

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reaperducer
_That sounds like an illegal eviction to me_

Just because it's illegal doesn't mean it doesn't happen. There's a reason why
housing courts are backed up for months.

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fallingfrog
I learned recently that until 1973, a woman in France had to get written
permission from her husband before taking a job. Now, one might argue that
maybe she should have picked a nicer husband if that’s a problem. But in
hindsight it’s clear that whether her husband is a _nice guy_ is beside the
point; he shouldn’t have that power over his wife. The power is the problem.

By the same token, most landlords are totally decent people, but that is not
the point- the _power relationship_ of having a landlord in a position to
exploit their tenants is still a problem. The landlord accumulates profit and
real estate value every year; the tenants stay poor and every year they pay
more and more of their wages just to have a roof over their heads. But it’s
not the fault of any individual. It’s the nature of the relationship.

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KorematsuFred
Very one sided discourse that paints landlords as some kind of evil monsters.
In reality a landlord is like nay other businessman who has taken substantial
risk to provide roof over your head, obviously for a profit. No landlord is
interested in screwing you, they are interested in having some profit margin.
One bad tenant can wipe out years of profits.

