So, a lottery system and a divide between FC and solo wards, eh?

[NyannCat]

I don’t really appreciate the lotto system. The problem isn’t procurement, it’s supply. A lotto system doesn’t fix that - they need to somehow up the supply or lower demand by allowing gardening in apartments.

The problem isn't that they don't want to supply, is that they can't. There are data issues.
People keep asking for the same thing, but it's just not doable.

Also, supply isn't an issue, to be honest. The biggest problem is that every ward is filled with empty abandoned houses. Because there is no cost to keep them.
Housing needs a weekly/monthly fee for rent cost or something, so people will have to be active enough to keep their houses. I see so many houses in my ward that haven't been touched in months, and I never see my neighbors. Meanwhile people keep wanting more wards, more plots. Why?
Why do you need more plots and wards if those are also going to be filled by empty abandoned houses?

All the time I see people saying "Oh my god I want a house so much!!!" and then they finally get one just to find out how hard it is to decorate one. And even when they do decorate them, they become bored of it and never touch them ever again.

Seriously. Farming 3-4m gil isn't even that hard. It's absurd that you only have to pay that amount once and now you can keep your empty house forever. Meanwhile SE spends millions in servers to be able to add more wards.

Seriously, if they add a rent cost, you'll see the housing supply and ward activity improve a lot. It won't solve it 100%, but it will improve.

(As for gardening issues, I really wish they fix this by allowing people to plant stuff in island sanctuaries. It is so dumb that you need a house to do gardening.)

[ForteNightshade]

The problem isn't that they don't want to supply, is that they can't. There are data issues.
People keep asking for the same thing, but it's just not doable.

Correction: It isn't doable under the flawed and horribly designed system they're stubbornly cling onto.

Instanced housing literally fixes this entire problem even if they want to keep the wards. At least then people have an option to fall back on, especially when we only see new housing districts every four years or so. Even different apartment sizes would help mitigate things. It's absurd practically every other MMO, many with half the budget and manpower of FFXIV, have implemented a better housing system. They just won't let go of a failed Ward system.

Rental fees accomplish nothing. They will never be high enough to impact rich players because if they were, far more players without deep pockets would be impacted. For reference sake, I have several times more gil than my friend does. So a rent of 48M annually (4M per month) would bankrupt her whereas I could do literally nothing for years before running out of gil. This essentially forces her to partake in things she doesn't like such as crafting (at least for profit) simply to keep her house. It also makes taking breaks harder. What would end up happening is people simply turn to RMT.

[Vidu]

Also, supply isn't an issue, to be honest. The biggest problem is that every ward is filled with empty abandoned houses. Because there is no cost to keep them.
Housing needs a weekly/monthly fee for rent cost or something, so people will have to be active enough to keep their houses. I see so many houses in my ward that haven't been touched in months, and I never see my neighbors. Meanwhile people keep wanting more wards, more plots. Why?
Why do you need more plots and wards if those are also going to be filled by empty abandoned houses?

I dont really see how rent would fix the problem you see with empty/abandoned houses? How would paying rent encourage someone who hasnt decorated their house (yet) to do so? How would paying rent create the time, motivation, idea and/ore ressources in this home owner who isnt using their house "properly"?
It wouldnt - people would just pay the rent aswell if they're thinking something along the lines of "One day I'll have the time to decoarte the house..." or "If I ever have an idea on how to decorate a house, it will be there waiting for me!"

I dont see how paying rent would encourage people to use their houses more than they already do.

[Alien_Gamer]

The problem isn't that they don't want to supply, is that they can't. There are data issues.
People keep asking for the same thing, but it's just not doable.

This is incorrect. There's many ways SE could implement enough housing to satisfy demands but they choose not to because it would mean admitting their current design isn't working well. But even if you don't change how housing works, if they put enough servers in to handle the load then there's no reason they couldn't have the supply; in the end that just comes down to money, not data.

Also, supply isn't an issue, to be honest. The biggest problem is that every ward is filled with empty abandoned houses. Because there is no cost to keep them.
Housing needs a weekly/monthly fee for rent cost or something, so people will have to be active enough to keep their houses. I see so many houses in my ward that haven't been touched in months, and I never see my neighbors. Meanwhile people keep wanting more wards, more plots. Why?
Why do you need more plots and wards if those are also going to be filled by empty abandoned houses?

You have 2 separate issues here and you treat them as if they're the same and they aren't.
1. A house is either used or its not. If its not then it will be demolished; if it is then it won't. That is all. How its being used is irrelevant; how its being decorated (or lack of) is also irrelevant. Nobody should have the right of dictating how a player uses what they have. You also never seeing your neighbors is irrelevant; people play at all times of the day, not just when you choose to play.
2. Rent doesn't solve anything; either rent is low enough that nobody is going to care or its too high for most people to deal with. If you place it high then people are going to say its another artificial barrier to entry and prevents them from participating in housing; which functionally makes it the same as not enough houses. And worse, you could end up with both not enough houses and a high barrier to maintain it which only makes it worse for those that don't focus their time on making gil. If you place rent low then its pointless as a means of moderating housing usage. You'd be better off trying to claim rent as a gil sink.

All the time I see people saying "Oh my god I want a house so much!!!" and then they finally get one just to find out how hard it is to decorate one. And even when they do decorate them, they become bored of it and never touch them ever again.

Seriously. Farming 3-4m gil isn't even that hard. It's absurd that you only have to pay that amount once and now you can keep your empty house forever. Meanwhile SE spends millions in servers to be able to add more wards.

Seriously, if they add a rent cost, you'll see the housing supply and ward activity improve a lot. It won't solve it 100%, but it will improve.

Rent does not equal activity. Rent would not change how people use their houses or what times they use their houses, you would not see your neighbors any more than you do now and it does not guarantee any future owners would be more visible to you or have more of an interest in decorating.

(As for gardening issues, I really wish they fix this by allowing people to plant stuff in island sanctuaries. It is so dumb that you need a house to do gardening.)

There will be some form of gardening in island sanctuaries but they haven't released specifics. We know there will be some form of trading and items unique to island sanctuaries and some form of minion interaction but that's about it.