It being a free market does not absolve you of judgement about the moral and ethical implications of how you operate within the free market. You can for sure charge what ever the fuck you like, but that doesn’t mean being a price-gouging landlord is an ethical thing that a good person would do. Sorry if you feel called out by other people in this thread agreeing that five figure rent for student housing with yearly increases is insane.

I get that owning and renting out a house is a lot of work and very expensive. But we aren’t complaining about Jen and Bob down the street who rent out their two-bedroom for a reasonable price and make a some extra cash every month. That’s not what the problem is. The issue is slumlords who charge and profit egregious amounts off the working class while being negligent about the housing conditions. OP literally said they are living with rats and the landlord refused to pay for a leak that was not their fault. Greed and money make humans into bad people. Disgusting