Houses should have a monthly fee

[NyannCat]

I know some people will be mad at me for proposing this, but hear me out:

The problem: One of the biggest problems of current housing is not just house resellers, but house hoarders. Endwalker will solve the issue of house reselling, but it will not solve the latter.
What I mean about house hoarders are players who buy a house and never bother to decorate or use them in any way. If you take a 15 minute walk around a few residential wards, you'll understand what I'm talking about.
This is why housing wards frequently feel very dead and empty, while at the same time, housing is one of the most demanded things in the game.

Why this problem even exists: There is no downside or cost to keeping an abandoned house for basically no reason. You don't have to pay anything, you don't have to do anything with it, you just have to enter it every 45 days.

There is no use for a lottery system if people are just going to hoard houses for no reason at all "just in case".

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So, that being said, allow me to talk about my suggestion.

Why: If people have to pay a fee, they are less likely to keep a house for no reason at all, motivating a more frequent rotation on the housing market.
This is also a form of gil-sink, helping control inflation. Even more considering housing is already something that costs considerable amounts of money, either for the house itself or furniture.


How it would work: After purchasing the house, you'd be charged a fee relative to the initial price of the house, something around 5% or 10%. After 30 days, you'd receive a notification reminding you to pay for it, and if not paid in the next 15 days, the house would be relinquished. This could even replace the current 45 days countdown.


Isn't this too expensive?
Not really, in my opinion. A small house owner would only have to pay about 300k a month, which is an insignificant amount, while a medium house owner would have to pay about 1.7 mil, and a large house owner would have to pay 5 mil. This is not unreasonable considering the category of those houses. Any active player that can afford a medium house should be able to make at least 1.7 million gil in one month, a large FC could easily collect enough donations for their 5 mil fee.

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Anyway, I know how controversial this suggestion could be, but it just hurts me to walk around residential wards and see so many empty, abandoned houses, while so many players and FCs struggle to get one.

[worldofneil]

Why this problem even exists: There is no downside or cost to keeping an abandoned house for basically no reason. You don't have to pay anything, you don't have to do anything with it, you just have to enter it every 45 days.

Except you forgot that this means you do have to pay to keep your subscription going which is real money...

If people are already doing that, paying some in-game money isn't going to be much of a deterrent.

[FrogDog]

That's really what this housing system needs, rent on top of the subscription requirement.

[Rathmir]

With exclusively viewing the housing, the issues are somewhere else than a monthly fee.
It would only take some exceed money out of the overall economy, but not much more, as even getting 5m with just little effort are easy to collect.

There are like over a dozen better spots to smack the hammer on to get the whole system repaired.

[YatoShishi]

Alright so, to "pay a monthly fee" to keep the house, I already do that. Im taking a break from the game for 6+ months now, and guess what, I still pay for the game to not lose my house that I worked hard to get.
So ya, no, people not should pay EXTRA just to have a house. They made huge design flaws in housing, why punish players more only because some got more lucky then others?

I understand people are frustrated with how housing works in this game, we pay the same every month and some people are basicly logged out of content that they would like to enjoy like the others who got lucky.
But people should not get punished for this by paying even more, they should work on making housing accessable for everyone.

PS: Now before anyone says "OH! Then why dont you sell the plot if you take a break so long!?" I play this game for 11 years now (1.0 player) and Im not giving my house away that took me YEARS to get and that I have for YEARS now only cause the game is dry for me right now. Theres nothing for me to do until 6.0

[Jojoya]

I'm going to be one of the few who agree with the OP, having made the same suggestion myself a few times in the past. It's a very unpopular opinion.

As long as SE refuses to address the supply issue and keep houses a limited resource, they need to insert deterrents to discourage ownership of houses a player is not actively using. A recurring fee in the form of a property tax or rent would be such a deterrent. Most people don't think twice about buying something when it's a one time fee, they just do it because there will be no future financial burden hanging over them. They do think twice when they have to keep paying for that something monthly even though they aren't using the item. Attach the monthly gil fee and those not using their houses would starting asking themselves why they're paying for a house they don't use instead of saving the gil to buy other items they want and actually would use.

Would it get every player not using their house to give it up? No, but it would still free up many. Every additional house going back into the supply is one more player who gets a chance to enjoy having a house. That's good for the game.

Of course, SE actually doing something about the supply issue would be even better. Then deterrents and other inconveniences like demolition wouldn't be needed. You could take a long break from the game and come back to your housing still intact, like i just did in RIFT when I returned after a 4 year absence and found all my housing still there waiting for me.

To those who go "I'm already paying a subscription for my house", you're not. The subscription is for access to the game servers to play the game, not to keep a house. If you genuinely are paying the $15/mo solely to log on once every 45 days to reset the demo timer then log out without doing anything else in game, do yourself a favor and cancel your subscription. That's money you could be spending on the games you're actually playing so you get more out of them.

[Sotaris]

As a fulltime crafter, an fee isn't a problem.
From a prinicble point of view however, i'm very against that type of idea and implementation. We don't need more punishable systems.
If anything, shorten the days between demolitions if your goal is getting at the people who doesn't use their houses which is probably a minority in the first place.

I'm going to be one of the few who agree with the OP, having made the same suggestion myself a few times in the past. It's a very unpopular opinion.

Rightfully so. We all pay same subscription and should all have equal chances at getting a house. A person able to afford a premium service on top of that is not the best solution.
Had we had that from day 1, I'd say you have a point.

Except you forgot that this means you do have to pay to keep your subscription going which is real money...

If people are already doing that, paying some in-game money isn't going to be much of a deterrent.

And even if it be a gil you had to pay, it would just mean RMT going to become a bigger problem.

Or what's next, implementing a FF token like Blizzard did with WoW?

[ForteNightshade]

As long as SE refuses to address the supply issue and keep houses a limited resource, they need to insert deterrents to discourage ownership of houses a player is not actively using. A recurring fee in the form of a property tax or rent would be such a deterrent. Most people don't think twice about buying something when it's a one time fee, they just do it because there will be no future financial burden hanging over them. They do think twice when they have to keep paying for that something monthly even though they aren't using the item. Attach the monthly gil fee and those not using their houses would starting asking themselves why they're paying for a house they don't use instead of saving the gil to buy other items they want and actually would use.

Except the deterrent already exists in the form of a monthly subscription they can't ever lapse on for more than 45 days. I'm actually someone who falls into this exact category, having stayed subbed throughout Shadowbringers only because I didn't want to lose my house, which I don't actively use a whole lot. Many players are in a similar position, keeping their subs constantly rolling despite not playing just to avoid losing their houses. Those same players are often sitting millions of gil. I, myself, have nine digits. A monthly fee wouldn't faze me whatsoever. Meanwhile, players who don't have the luxury to consistently play won't necessarily be able to keep up. Making a rent system impact them far more significantly than the rich players. In other words, OP's solution benefits the very players SE doesn't want to have continual advantages.

To those who go "I'm already paying a subscription for my house", you're not. The subscription is for access to the game servers to play the game, not to keep a house. If you genuinely are paying the $15/mo solely to log on once every 45 days to reset the demo timer then log out without doing anything else in game, do yourself a favor and cancel your subscription. That's money you could be spending on the games you're actually playing so you get more out of them.

You do realize some players simply like to take breaks or run out of content, yes? I stopped playing for several months because it was near the height of our first Covid content drought, and I wasn't feeling the game due to other reasons. That doesn't mean I intended to stop playing, or that I wouldn't want my house when I returned. So no, I wouldn't be "doing myself a favor." In fact, I never even spend that $15 on anything else since I played games I already owned.

All a rental fee would prompt is RMT. I guarantee you people will buy gil just to maintain their houses.

[Nepentha]

No, I've been against this from the start. You'd have to actually implement some hefty rent amounts to even remotely touch the people who abuse the housing system.

But that'd punish players who prioritize things other than making vast sums of gil in game.

Also it has this cringe tone of 'I don't approve of how you use your house'.

This just feels like spitting in the wind tbh. It's 'I want to take away what people have' and that bothers me.

[Themarvin]

No, I've been against this from the start. You'd have to actually implement some hefty rent amounts to even remotely touch the people who abuse the housing system.

But that'd punish players who prioritize things other than making vast sums of gil in game.

Also it has this cringe tone of 'I don't approve of how you use your house'.

This just feels like spitting in the wind tbh. It's 'I want to take away what people have' and that bothers me.

Why?

1million for a large plot per month
750k for medium plot per month
250k for a small plot per month

It is a great idea to pay taxes like that, and if you can afford a large house then 1million per month is just a grab in the pocket.

Also a good way to get some control over the multiple house owners and a subtle but legal way to run grandfathering to the ground as well as multiple shell FC owners for a greater good.