Slumlord

A slumlord (or slum landlord) is a slang term for a landlord, generally an absentee landlord with more than one property, who attempts to maximize profit by minimizing spending on property maintenance, and usually rents to tenants that they can intimidate. Severe housing shortages allow slumlords to charge higher rents and, when they can get away with it, to break rental laws.[1][2]

A "retail slumlord" is one who keeps a shopping mall in a bad shape and may not pay taxes until the government buys or confiscates it.

The origin of the term "slumlord" is unknown, but an early mention can be found in the 1927 journal article "Theories, Facts, and Figures" by William L. Hare in the academic journal Garden Cities & Town Planning: A Journal of Housing, Town Planning & Civic Improvement Hare credits the 'polemical press' of the time for referring to landlords of areas referred to as slums as slumlords.[3]

  1. ^ Dylan Welch (18 Jul 2014). "Slumlords cramming 14 people into two-bedroom flats in illegal accommodation network". 7.30. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  2. ^ Miles Godfrey (5 July 2014). "Sydney's slum dodge landlords: Inside our city's worst accommodation rentals". Daily Telegraph.
  3. ^ Hare, William (January–December 1927). "Theories, Facts, and Figures". Garden Cities & Town Planning. XVII (Incorporating the Housing Reformer): 102–107. hdl:2027/mdp.39015047769248. Retrieved 23 September 2020.