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I really doubt that landlords have conspired like this. Not sure what monopoly legislation looks like in Europe but I doubt this behavior would be legal.

The real reason is to economically disencentive land speculators holding uninhabitable land, who were planning on flipping it without developing it after several years.

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Don't think it's collusion, it is probably just the reality of things. I've noted that my original comment made it sound like this was insidious collusion but what I mean is that it is likely just the stark reality.

If there is no market collusion or abuse of monopoly, than there is absolutely no way it makes economic sense to withhold properties from the market to inflate the market. If you have a minority market share you won't be able to make up for the lost revenue, because the majority of the rent inflation is just going to be recognized by the other parties.

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