A house is more than a home: Why the law should discourage the shift to renting and the effects of the shift on nascent families

Abstract

“Generation Rent” is a term that denotes the trend of young people renting as opposed to buying housing. This, in part, is due to rising housing prices. This Note seeks to look at the potential effects of private “pushes” for an increase in renting and in the private equity firm ownership of Single-Family Rentals. There are many negative tradeoffs between renting and homeownership in relation to family wealth over a long term. Several proposed solutions to this problem include using Tax Deductions to encourage buying and using Eminent Domain to attack concentrated housing ownership.