• Kissaki@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    5 months ago

    How do you call an individual that rents you a place then?

    https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/landlord

    A person that leases real property; a lessor.

    I really don’t see the distinction. And while I’m not a native speaker, I’ve never heard nor think this is a common distinction or understanding.

    Landlord is singular. It does not sound like a company or manager.

    • theneverfox@pawb.social
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      5 months ago

      Context matters - the person I rent from is my landlord, but that person is not primarily defined as a landlord. They rent out a couple properties, but they have a job - being a landlord is not their career

      You can call them a landlord (and they can call themselves one in certain contexts), but in the larger systematic context someone who rents out a room obviously is categorically different.

      The line is blurry, but honestly I don’t think it matters if you rent out your basement, your old house, or even a few houses. At some point it becomes a full time job (for someone), and that’s where I think the line is

      And as far as companies, the landlords are the ones who own the company holding ownership.

      It can also refer to the company itself as it’s a person legally (unfortunately). It’s not used that way in everyday conversation

      But in everyday conversation it’s normal to refer to the manager of the management company as your landlord, which is often an employee of a company that oversees bookkeeping and maintenance hired by the actual owners

      Ultimately, I think it’s important to fight for this distinction because language changes with use. By dragging in everyone who owns a second property or rents a room, we draw a line on the wrong side of working class people and their family who aren’t the problem