I’m also a former renter, current homeowner, and you certainly get more freedom as a homeowner than you normally would as a renter (although you do sometimes hit the jackpot with a landlord who will let you do anything you want to your rental.)

The second half of your comment though, is putting words in my mouth that I didn’t say. I agree with building codes, safety regulations, permits, etc. I certainly don’t trust the morons living next door to me to not blow their house up and mine along with it because they tried to service their own gas line, and I’m willing to give up that bit of freedom for myself because the benefits outweigh the inconvenience.

I am, however, not a fan of property taxes, because I’d like to know that if I someday end up disabled, lose my job, and broke, I’d like to know I’d at least be able tocount on having a roof over my head even if I can’t afford to keep the heat and lights on, it would keep me out of the elements and provide some physical security. I like everything those property taxes pay for, but I want it to come out of income taxes.

There’s also of course the issue of things like eminent domain and civil asset forfeiture. If the government can just take your home away from you, how real is your ownership of it? Just like how a landlord can decide to evict you or sell the property at any time, sure there’s a process they need to go through, but the government has hoops to jump through when they do it as well.