Rent regulation is a system of laws for the rental market of dwellings, with controversial effects on affordability of housing and tenancies. Generally, a system of rent regulation involves:
The loose term "rent control" covers a spectrum of regulation which can vary from setting the absolute amount of rent that can be charged, with no allowed increases, to placing different limits on the amount that rent can increase; these restrictions may continue between tenancies, or may be applied only within the duration of a tenancy.[3] As of 2016, at least 14 of the 36 OECD countries have some form of rent control in effect,[4] including four states in the United States.[5][6]
Rent regulation is implemented in many diverse forms. It is one of several classes of policies intended to improve housing affordability. Its efficacy and collateral impacts have been the subject of disagreement and controversy.[7] There is consensus among economists that rent control reduces the quality and quantity of housing units.[7]: 1[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]
"strict ", also known as rent freeze systems, or absolute or first generation rent controls, in which no increases in rent are allowed at all (rent is typically frozen at the rate existing when the law was enacted)
A price ceiling will create a shortage in between Qs and Qd.
price ceilings
"vacancy control", also known as strict or strong rent control, in which the rental price can rise, but continues to be regulated in between tenancies (a new pays almost the same rent as the previous tenant) and
tenant
"vacancy decontrol", also known as tenancy or second-generation rent control, which limits price increases during a tenancy, but allows rents to rise to market rate between tenancies (new tenants pay market rate rent, but increases are limited as long as they remain).
[15]
The loose term "rent control" can apply to several types of price control:
Rental regulations are administered by the state and territory governments. Rent control and freezes were features of the First and Second World War, the Great Depression, and the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.[48]
Affordable housing
Housing inequality
NIMBY
Public housing
Subsidized housing
YIMBY movement
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A Anas, 'Rent Control with Matching Economies: A Model of European Housing Market Regulation' (1997) 15(1) Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics 111–37
T Ellingsen and P Englund, 'Rent regulation: An introduction' (2003) 10 Swedish Economic Policy Review 3
H Lind, 'Rent Regulation: A Conceptual and Comparative Analysis' (2001)
1(1) International Journal of Housing Policy 41
C Rapkin, The Private Rental Housing Market in New York City (1966)
G Sternlieb, The Urban Housing Dilemma (1972)
P Weitzman, 'Economics and Rent Regulation: A Call for a New Perspective' (1984–1985) 13 NYU Review of Legal and Social Change 975–988
M Haffner, M Elsinga and J Hoekstra, 'Rent Regulation: The Balance between Private Landlords and Tenants in Six European Countries' (2008) 8(2) International Journal of Housing Policy 217
Kholodilin, Konstantin A. (2024). "". Journal of Housing Economics. 63
Rent control effects through the lens of empirical research: An almost complete review of the literature
Rent Control Around the World: Pros and Cons – Including summaries of rent control laws in many countries
