Ethically: How do you give a rent-free apartment to the addict who just can't get his act together, but tell the single mother working her butt of and getting nowhere that she's not desperate enough to get a free apartment? I think it would cause an outrage. It would become an issue of who deserves, not who needs. Maybe that is more political than ethical, but I guarantee the average person would see it in an ethical light.

Logistically: When you're putting up the most desperate, hopeless cases, wouldn't these apartments attract a strong criminal element, making them dangerous places? How would you keep them from becoming hang outs for addicts, dealers, etc. without turning them into little prisons or rehab centers? How would you keep tenants from selling their furniture for money? Basically, imagine the most irresponsible, un-trustworthy person you know, and imagine how it would go if you gave them their own rent-free apartment, and you became the person ultimately responsible for their lives and behavior. Do you think it could ever work out? Once again, maybe logistically wasn't the best word... perhaps realistically?

Anyway, I understand that this is just my perspective, but it just seems so impossible when you bring in all these real-life considerations. To me, it's a solution that looks great-on-paper, but that's as far as it goes.