Rental Housing in an Antisocial Environment

I’ve heard some of the local NIMBY group members complain at City Council public meetings about overcrowding, heavy traffic, and other typical growth issues when apartment complexes are planned for development pretty much anywhere in the city. But when one of the men complained about window air conditioners decreasing his property value, I was stumped. I had to think about that for a minute. What was he really complaining about? Maybe it wasn’t appearances but behavior. Why can’t we talk about behavior? It’s necessary to talk about behavior when tax dollars are funding so much as a nickel (because we don’t have pennies anymore) toward housing developments.

If this neoliberal economic hellscape we’re living in had a mantra it would be “I will do whatever I want!” That attitude is reflected in the poor living conditions of every Foreign LLC owned and managed rental apartment complex in the city, not just those built for section 8.

Constructing housing for a specific program need does not solve the problem of affordability when the attitude among those who “do whatever I want” destroys the property they live in and the neighborhood around it. And this attitude prevails at Foreign LLC owned and managed apartment complexes. The appearance of window air conditioners is not the worst thing you’re going to find at these apartment complexes. Antisocial behavior is the bigger concern, and it seems like city development plans lack robust situational awareness. Here’s what it looks like when neoliberal laissez faire economics kicks the shit out of civility and common sense; things I see on any given day:

>>kids run screaming around the parking lot and in between cars, throw rocks, vandalize personal property, kill landscaping plants, break branches off the trees, leave bikes and scooters and toys in the middle of the parking lot, cuss at and beat up other kids, speak disrespectfully at all the adults who live here, etc.

>>adult-age tenants disrupting quiet enjoyment by letting their dogs bark without correction

>>exposing neighbors to the toxic effects of smoking and drug use

>>violating quiet hours with loud conversations and stomping their feet, slamming doors and cabinets

>>throwing objects against shared interior walls, pounding on the walls

>>polluting the groundwater by operating illegal auto shops

>>parking in the fire lanes

And this is happening in what is called “market-rate” apartments. The problem is, the owner/management company is a foreign LLC.

A Foreign LLC is only interested in extracting profit from these properties so they promote antisocial behavior by not taking corrective action or in some cases, directly participating in it themselves. The combination of antisocial tenants and antisocial foreign LLCs adds up to uninhabitable living conditions and the curb appeal of a junk yard. 

Rather than fund large apartment complexes, spend our tax dollars on accountability measures: ban Foreign LLCs from owning and/or managing rental properties; establish a rental licensing program for accountability and retention of what remains of habitable rental housing; prioritize small starter homes for retirees wanting to downsize and use their equity for their personal needs, and for individuals who want to secure their financial future with home ownership. The purpose of housing is not to accumulate wealth for asset managers, but to secure our own personal wealth. Constructing apartment complexes does not contribute to individual financial security or stability and is not sustainable model for the development of a thriving city.