[pp.int.general] @ Dutch Pirates

[Philip Hunt]

On 20 October 2010 16:04, Gregory Engels
<Gregory.Engels at piratenpartei-hessen.de> wrote:
> On 20.10.2010, at 12:34, Justus Römeth wrote:
>
> Amsterdam poised to ban flat-sharing
>
> This is so wrong, it looks like outright stupidity from the outside.
> It is violating just so many human rights, including the
> right of property, and is involving into very private moments
> of one's life. And its also denies reality, of how people
> are living together.

It is an infringement of property rights, and of human rights in
general. It isn't -- or shouldn't be -- any of the state's business
how people make their living arrangements (as long as they don't harm
others, of course).

In the UK there is similar legislation. An HMO (short for "house in
multiple occupation") is defined as one where 3 or more unrelated
people live in. (That's the law in Sciotland -- other parts of the UK
have similar laws). It's illegal to run an HMO without a license
(which costs money of course, money which is passed on to tenants in
higher rents).

In the part of Edinburgh I live in, there are lots of HMOs, often
inhabited by students. Some residents don't like this, and have called
for a restriction in the number of HMOs in the area. This is bigoted,
and I think, wrong. Bigotry against someone because they are a student
or because they are young should be no more acceptable than bigotry
against someone because, for excample, they are black.

I would imagine there are lots of flat sharers in Amsterdam, and it
would make sense for the Pirate Party there to campaign on this issue.

-- 
Philip Hunt, <cabalamat at gmail.com>