Rent control is a complicated issue. Generally speaking, legislatively mandated below-market prices results in demand exceeding supply, and the available supply gets rationed by some mechanism other than price. Thus, existing renters may benefit from lower rents, but newcomers will be unable to find units to rent, and the market becomes a game of musical chairs. The problem is that while rents can be regulated, landlords can’t be compelled to build new units, and have little or no incentive to do so in a market of regulated prices.
Rent control is a complicated issue. Generally speaking, legislatively mandated below-market prices results in demand exceeding supply, and the available supply gets rationed by some mechanism other than price. Thus, existing renters may benefit from lower rents, but newcomers will be unable to find units to rent, and the market becomes a game of musical chairs. The problem is that while rents can be regulated, landlords can’t be compelled to build new units, and have little or no incentive to do so in a market of regulated prices.