Letter: Stop raising the rent

This is for my fellow landlords. Listen up. This has got to stop.

You’re out here raising rent because it’s “fair market value.” Here’s something “the market” doesn’t ask of you -- “Is this right?”Is it right to exploit one of a human’s basic needs for your profit? The individuals and families living in your apartments can’t afford your greed. Their wages aren’t going up when you raise the rent. They’re sacrificing somewhere else in life, if they can, in order to line your coffers. Many of them are single parents, disabled persons, elderly, some of them living on fixed income.

You can live up to the highest ideals of your religion or ethical framework. You can allow your morals and your ethics to influence your “business” decisions. You don't need to raise that rent for anything else other than your own greed. Lay it aside.Imagine if all the landlords in this area lowered rent? Think of the impact! Think of the people that would wake up the next day breathing a little easier by the stroke of your pen. That’s a stroke to the ego you’d rather have than the one that fattens your bank account.

One more thing. Some of you also need to stop buying houses to list on Airbnb and start helping the housing crisis by opening those homes up to your neighbors. You have a lot of power in this community. How are you going to use it?

Justin Charles

Rindge