On the contrary, government doesn't have power to arbitrary reduce rent. What the government can control is the increment. No government official can come to my building and tell me what I should charge rent. If someone wants to address house shortage, they should start with giving titles to slumlords so that they can put up proper buildings with all the amenities. This will lead to increased supply of available houses thus reducing rent.
HK
On the contrary to what? You seem to respond to your own imagination.
The issue of title deeds and ownership of land in the slums is in the courts thanks to mostly Mount Kenya land grabbers who successfully worked the Adhi House cartels to seize paper control of most of the slum land and are unwilling to let go of it. They used the same style employed in Greater Mathare etc in the 70s and 80s where upon seizing the land, would engineer fires or use the Nairobi City Council to bulldoze the poor off the land and put up the structures you are suggesting.
Unfortunately one does not steal land from the real owners even if he thinks he would put it to the best use. No less a person than Jomo Kenyatta made it clear with his parable of the Animals versus the Wild Animals.
Obviously you worship the private sector and believe that private capital is the answer to all the social problems. You are a proponent of promoting huge wealth upstairs and then letting some of it drip down - once overflowing up there - to the poor. So your solution to the housing problem inevitably and predictably follows that line of thinking.
I could waste my time quoting authorities that found that kind of thinking first wrong and later sick and now confirmed to be utter madness. Suffice is to say it does not work HK.
Housing is solved with direct government intervention. Simply put: The government must build houses for citizens. Once that is done, life is funny, the capitalists come in to engage in speculation and profit taking. But they cannot solve the housing problem! Never. There is no place on earth where the solution you preach has worked. Whether London or New York (Public Housing expanded under the new deal) it is the government that has historically taken measures to end housing shortages and other problems associated with it.
History shows that whenever private enterprise is left to solve the housing problem, it leads to high prices, slums and serious social problems. For the motive of private capital is never to solve the housing problem. NO and never! Their motive is to make money and solving the problem (meaning achieving adequate and sufficient housing for all) works against the profit driving factor and endangers the credit-worthiness.
Familiarize yourself with KENSUP which Raila Odinga put into action. He first negotiated it when he worked in the KANU government. It stalled and when he became minister for Housing resumed it and got HABITAT to sign and implement the project.
When you read it you will find out that it is Central Province so called "landlords" who put a stop to it. I will not state how to give you an incentive to educate yourself on the matter.
Like Kichwa stated, there are long and short term measures. Raila has outlined short term measures to tame run away high living costs. The NASA manifesto will outline long term measures which will invariably include public housing.
Topic: Why are Jubileeidiots opposed to rent reduction? (Read 5762 times)