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Owner Occupancy credit against property taxes. Sometimes called a "homestead exemption".
Basically, if you live in a house you own, you pay a vastly lower property tax rate. If you own a house you don't live in, you pay a vastly higher property tax rate on that house, because you can't claim the exemption.
When we establish this, "landlords" stop "renting" and become private mortgage lenders. They sell their homes to their former tenants, or issue "land contracts" (rent-to-own arrangements), and enjoy the lower tax rate on the property.
If they foreclose or evict, they pay the higher tax rate until they get a new "buyer".
I like the general idea but how does rent to own work for multi family properties, especially in larger apartment buildings? I know condos exist already but that requires an HOA or something similar to provide upkeep for the building/property. I also wouldn't want to completely deincentivize renting because there are situations where it's a better fit for people as long as they are not getting gouged or kicked out needlessly.
Maybe instead of a credit for occupying a property you own, add a tax on income from rental properties that is earmarked for the kind of infrastructure that an area needs to accommodate a growing population including mass transit. There would have to be some protections in place to prevent landlords from passing that cost directly to tenants but I'm not smart enough to know how to do that.
Alongside that, offer a tax credit for rent to own arrangements that starts small and gets larger as the tenant gets closer to owning the property. Successful transfer of ownership gets the original owner a credit equal to the difference between the taxes paid and credits received plus interest and the new owner gets a reduced property tax rate for their first year of ownership.
Is rent to own that common? Is it a viable option? I have heard of owner financing situations, but they are generally looked down upon (risky).
No. It's extremely uncommon but the comment that started this discussion mentioned forcing landlords to adopt rent to own programs. Got me thinking about how cool it would be if that was a viable option.
That's a good point, having that option could be good if it was supported appropriately.