I remember back then in DAoC where you had to pay a rental for your place while you ran your subscription.
Yes, you had to buy a plot license, put the right housing certification on and all the expansion you wanted.

And then run a upkeep for it.

Granted, you could put up a stall NPC outside which pulls the funds from your sales into the rental, but you had to keep a steady income going to have that house going.

Still think it should be like that here as well.