AIM Framework glossary
Rental Trap
Canonical definition
The condition in which non-owners pay PM indirectly through rental markets structured by ownership-market PM, such that avoiding PM(ownership) through rental does not avoid PM-extraction but merely changes its form.
Explanation
Rental markets do not escape PM, they are structured by it. Rental prices are set by what owners can extract, which includes their PM-capture expectations. Renters pay PM indirectly through rents set against ownership-market comparables, landlord extraction calibrated to ownership-market returns, and tenure structures preserving owner optionality rather than renter A-stability. The Rental Trap means that neither purchasing (PM-direct) nor renting (PM-indirect) provides PM-free A-access in M-escalated housing markets. PM-free housing access requires structures that decouple shelter-provision from both ownership-status and ownership-market pricing.
Epistemic status
Framework-Specific Construct.
Derivation
Related terms
- Mimetic Premium (PM)
- Housing PM Decomposition
- A-Floor Erosion Principle
- Ownership Signal