I think I can see how buying up single family homes, and not living in them can artifically increase housing prices.
But I dont see why we should disincentivize people from buying multi-family homes and renting them out. Being a landlord is not free, and its not a charity. Landlords need an incentive to provide services like maintaining the property, renovating and dealing with the headaches of owning property. If property did not offer any financial return, less people would buy multi family homes or they would put as little effort into maintaining the property.
But I dont see why we should disincentivize people from buying multi-family homes and renting them out. Being a landlord is not free, and its not a charity. Landlords need an incentive to provide services like maintaining the property, renovating and dealing with the headaches of owning property. If property did not offer any financial return, less people would buy multi family homes or they would put as little effort into maintaining the property.