To not agree with how some people make their money, specifically landlords and letting agents?

You talk absolute shit. When the Landlord pays to maintain their property they write the cost off against their tax bill as is legally permissable. It doesn't affect the tenants rent. I'm actually replacing a tumble dryer this morning for a tenant but it won't affect the amount of rent they pay.

If you want to live under communism there still a few countries to choose from.

My moral objection is nail bars, car washes and all the related OCG run businesses that people turn a blind eye to because it suits them.

Do you hate food shops too?

Are you really trying to draw a direct analogy between 'shopping' for somewhere to live and shopping for food?

It not critically flawed. You chose a property. You have no control over who owns and manages it and there is no Consistency across service from landlords and letting agents for you to realistically make this choice.

Even in 2003, with the exact same circumstances and no need for deposit, I was offered a £102k mortgage in this circumstance which wasn’t enough to purchase a small flat in areas I looked in 200 miles of my home

yes I could’ve moved to the north or a town in Bedfordshire etc etc but I was building a career, had friends and a boyfriend and it’s not in any way common for someone to abandon all of that in favour of home ownership

Just as you can choos between supermarkets you can choose between Landlords and letting agents. Your argument is critically flawed.

The argument here is that the capitalist market works better for food which it turns out market forces dictate is very low profit margin, yet plentiful (in the uk)

the market for housing works by disadvantaging the poorest in society, and rewarding the richest over and over again.

And when was this exactly?

Before I purchased this house I rented for 4 years. Rent was £1400 far far far more than a mortgage. Which would have been £1000 as repayment with minimal deposit. Landlord did nothing to address mould or damp or leak issues. Nothing. He did no maintenance at all ever and not even gas safety certificates done on time. We paid for dehumidifier, paid for guttering cleaning etc and even the windows were falling out of frames. Fortunately we documented it all in writing over the years - when we left he tried to keep our deposit saying we had caused the mould. Fortunately we had videos of water and damp coming through walls that we sent to him and helps response in writing - it’s not a great house. He painted over all the mould and got a new tenant in for £2000 a month and after 6 months she had issues with mould wrecking all her things in built in wardrobes so we have given her copies of all our emails sent to him over the years before we moved out of the area so she can take it further. He rents out two other houses (all 3 houses were from parents and grandparents and inheritances) he is currently renting all of them out for £6K a month and does no maintenance on any of them.
He knew I had children and knew the issues with mould wrecking- our health. I owned a house before renting that one and since owning it and we just don’t have issues with mould and have never done - windows open most days etc and the house warm and cosy.

I have no problem with a landlord renting but they need to do maintenance - yearly not fix problems ;although they need to do that too but they need to do mould prevention. We ended up with health problems and two weeks after we moved out our coughs, asthma etc all just cleared up in our new house. They also don’t need to be grabby - he doesn’t need to put the rent up to £2000 or more - it is pure income for him! The rents round here are crazy - £2000 for a 3 bed semi!! Or more:-(
because people need houses they put them up and up and up. Used to be 20% of your wage and now it’s expected rent is 50% or more round here. Single parents have no chance.

This makes no sense. If there is private renting, that can be social housing. I never understand this argument. Property doesn’t disappear because private landlords do.

i agree OP-this is one of the worst outcomes of capitalism

I earnt 18k when I bought my 2 bed flat for 85k at age of 22. I had saved up a 10k deposit by working a 2nd job in the evenings. It was a complete state, no working kitchens, dodgy bathroom, grotty carpets. I did up 1 room and lived in that as could only afford 1 new carpet, slept on a single mattress on the floor. Every bit of money I had left over each month I bought 1 thing - a 2nd hand fridge, a microwave. I only got it fully sorted 2 years later and then had to move for work and rented it out, at an overall loss.

DH (before I knew him) did very similar. We then sold both after we married to be able to buy a do'er upper family home in outer London. My salary at that point was about 33k, DH only a bit more.

So it is doable if prepared to live in cheaper area, take in a do'er upper and live in a cheaper area.

Or how about not profiting from people needing care?
Everyone needing food?
Energy?

We live in a capitalist society.

I have a job because I presumably create more money for my employer than I cost them. My pension will almost certainly involve investment in companies that make profit and I want that because it will benefit me personally.

What about other businesses like utilities, medicine and food? You can’t choose to not eat or have water.

If landlords kept their properties and didn’t lend them out then the results would be worse. I’m not saying that they are doing society a favour but everybody is out there making a profit from everyone else and landlords aren’t any worse than say Thames Water or Tesco.

The housing market is fucked up and I feel for those who can never own even if they wanted to. Working full time should be enough for a mortgage on a basic property imo

This answer covers it. People do business for money. You wouldn’t buy a house, cover the cost of all repairs and rent it out for just the monthly mortgage payment, just as if you were selling goods for a living, you wouldn’t sell them for the same price you bought them for. We don’t live in a Communist society (thank God).

I used to be a landlord. I lost loads of money because my tenants didn't bother paying the rent over Covid and then reported me to the council for not doing repairs (which I couldn't afford because they were £10k in arrears.) I had to sell at a very reduced price before the council took me to court. The new landlord threw them out.

Property is an appreciating asset, things like clothes and food are not.

I also think sometimes it is jealousy...big companies are faceless, individual landlords are easier to envy and direct your anger at

A quick Google shows that 5% deposit mortgages are available, so your 60K becomes 15K. A lot of people choose to buy houses on two incomes these days, so 25K becomes 50K. So the deposit is less than 4 months of take home pay. This is lower than it was in the past..

I never understand this argument. Yes, bad landlords are not a good thing and should be addressed. But landlords per se are not a bad thing at all. Not everyone wants to buy a property, renting has it's place.

And do you feel the same way about businesses making a profit from other "basic needs", eg supermarkets selling food for profit, clothes shops, electricity companies etc?

I found myself homeless after a vile divorce having sold a property to move into a house owned by my ExH’s parents.
a foolish decision on my part.
In my 50’s single and childless, with 2 dogs, no chance of social housing.
if it wasn’t for private landlords I wouldn’t have my current home.

We rent out a brand new £280,000 3 bed mortgage free for a £1000 mortgage would be probably £1300 we would get more in the bank if we sell and without the hassle!

Due to the government's new landlords' legislation I personally know of four landlords who, once the existing tenancies are up on their properties, will no longer be renewing the let. They are selling up. I imagine they will not be alone in doing so. It is just going to be too onerous to let their properties.

Things are going to get very difficult. You might regret that landlords have to give up their properties OP.

Being a landlord allows local people to hold on to properties that can give other local people a place to live, rather than selling up to London (or Beijing or Moscow or you insert the place) based property conglomerates or having properties become second homes hardly lived in or Airbnbs. I have been very grateful for the landlords we had when we were saving to buy our own house.

What would be the alternative? Landlords provide service and if you want to use that service you need to pay.

Sure we have a basic need for shelter but also food, fresh water, heat but we pay for all of those, usually to organisations much more powerful than a landlord. And yet landlords are singled out and vilified.

Some landlords are good, others are crap and that applies to both private landlords and also those providing social housing. A quick google search will bring up a story of someone living in a mould infested social housing property.

Home ownership comes with maintenance costs and there are lots of people who cannot afford to maintain their home. I realise that there are landlords that don’t adequately maintain their properties but they are mostly in the minority and if your landlord refuses, it’s possible to move (sure it’s not ideal but it’s a lot easier moving rentals than it is buying and selling a property.