The Onion

Paying rent is "the significant tax" you're talking about except because landlords don't care about their properties past maintaining the investment value (which rarely correlates with actual maintenance or actual value) housing isn't improved and at times is barely up kept.

In a society where every building was owned by the people living or working inside it, yes there would be a small buffer not currently being used and yes that would likely have to be publicly managed. That would neither be difficult or expensive from a government perspective and it assuredly would be far cheaper to society as a whole than rent is.

This isn't even considering that my rent goes to some rich asshole instead of a government employee maintaining my community as a 9-5. I'd much rather create a new well paying job per 1000 homes than buy the rich another vacation or yacht.