I love my building because it's run by a dictator. No short sighted strata and the surrounding politics, just the firm hand of an "enlightened dictator". You know exactly what you're getting into when you move in, no surprises. The rules are actually enforced here. No pets, no loud noises/music/parties after 10, no smoking on the property. I know these situations are rare, most of my friends either have lazy or "easy going" landlords (see: doesn't actually enforce rules, great if you're the jerk disturbing everyone, not so great if you're everyone else) or landlords that are only strict when it comes to rules that make work for them or cut into their profits but very slow to address noise issues.
The landlords here are also pretty good at screening tenants, they're quite choosy and like to really interview and get to know you and look up all your references, and they make very clear that the rules here are actually enforced. They also put the same level of care into the upkeep of the building, minor issues are generally fixed same-day, the common spaces are spotless, and the building's exterior and gardens are also always perfect.
It would be nice if this was the norm for renting, but sadly it isn't. It can take a lot of moving around to find the right building and landlord. Why I like renting (beyond financial reasons) is that it's much easier to evict a problem tenant than it is to evict a problem condo owner, and it's much easier to give notice and move to another building than it is to sell your condo and buy another one. But everyone has different tastes,that's why we have so many types of buildings.
I would though like to see landlords given more powers to deal with problem tenants, the people who ruin buildings for everyone else. At the same time I'd like to see more protections and rights for people not causing problems in a building.
PS
Live on the top floor, no upstairs neighbours to worry about!!
Edited by Baro, 21 May 2015 - 04:57 PM.