People tend to talk about two different things when they say renting: control and affordability.
Anti-renting people emphasize the control inherent in the relationship. Landlord sets the rules, including price; tenant required to abide. (Attempts to address the market by regulation here have had their share of severe side effects)
Pro-renting people emphasize the affordability and ability to offer housing to those without access to the capital to purchase, as well as the shift of asset risk (physical and market) from the renter to landlord.
The central evil seems not the existence of renting, but the ability of a landlord to capture underlying asset appreciation and charge rent.
Coupled with areas of constrained supply, this leads to landlords getting richer and renters... not. Which seems unfair.
Anti-renting people emphasize the control inherent in the relationship. Landlord sets the rules, including price; tenant required to abide. (Attempts to address the market by regulation here have had their share of severe side effects)
Pro-renting people emphasize the affordability and ability to offer housing to those without access to the capital to purchase, as well as the shift of asset risk (physical and market) from the renter to landlord.
The central evil seems not the existence of renting, but the ability of a landlord to capture underlying asset appreciation and charge rent.
Coupled with areas of constrained supply, this leads to landlords getting richer and renters... not. Which seems unfair.