Manifesto: Housing Reforms

8thJuly2019

All previously owned land and property will now be owned by the government.

As mentioned in Let’s Kill Capitalism, nobody will have the option to own property under Aretecracy. Tenants and former property owners will be allowed to remain in the residence they are currently occupying for as long as they wish to with the following caveat: If their Grace level falls far enough that they enter the toxic class. In that situation, they will be evicted and placed in a residence suitable to their new status.

Property acquired during The Amnesty

Whichever property is your primary residence at midnight on the last day of The Amnesty is where you will live until you either choose to move, are relocated due to entering the Toxic class or pass away.

Because of this, many people will take advantage of The Amnesty to get the nicest property available to them, I wouldn’t discourage this, in fact if Aretecracy does ever take hold, it’s definitely the first thing I would do. Savings are pointless under the new system so it makes sense to acquire as much as you can in the way of personal luxuries.

Be aware though that if the property contains 10 rooms or more (excluding Kitchen, Bathroom, etc…) then it will be considered a mansion and will be subject to conversion into apartments.

Moving house

People want to move house all the time and that is not likely to change any time soon. The property market will still exist, however it will now be under government control. People will be entitled to move house up to twice per calendar year.

All properties will be graded and that grade will be linked to a Grace range. When you move, you will be able to select from any currently available house within your Grace range, if there are multiple people involved in a move and all parties are either Standard or Meritocratic class member, then the person with the highest Grace will be taken into account.

If any member of the household is in the Toxic class then this changes things a little,Toxics are not eligible to move house, nor choose which property they want to live in. If they wish to move then they will need to prove that there is a good reason for the move and if accepted, they will be assigned another property. If they live with members of the Standard or Meritocratic class then those people will have to either choose to live separately from them or accept that they will be placed in assigned housing for the Toxic class.

Mansions and other large properties

Mansions, Churches, empty office blocks etc… will be divided up into sections and refitted as apartments, any building which is too large for the current occupant will undergo this treatment. If there is a current occupant in that building then they will be allowed to stay until they either choose to leave, are evicted for bad behaviour or pass away.

What if a property has been owned by a family for generations?

This is an unfortunate side-effect of an equal and fair society, whilst it seems unfair that a property with personal family attachments is taken away from the future heirs. It is a lot more unfair that just by virtue of their birth, they are entitled to a home or lifestyle which they did nothing to earn.

What if someone owns a property overseas?

If a person holds property overseas then that property can be sold during The Amnesty. Either that or a person can choose to move there. If neither option is taken then the owner will have to accept that they cannot use any profits nor pay any fees which are earned / incurred from that property. Management of the property must be taken over by somebody outside of the Aretecratic Union or surrendered to the government.

Government Employees

If you work for the Government and you are in the standard class, you will be assigned to a slightly higher level of housing than your Grace level would normally allow. This is to incentivise people to work for the essential government services.

Article author: Alexander Foxleigh