Rent Control

Some states and localities have tried to use rent control or other regulations to restrict the cost of rental housing. While well-intentioned, the efforts have been found to be counter-productive, dis-incenting new development and investment in the existing housing stock, among other things. Studies have found the following impacts of such policies:

• Reducing the available supply of rental housing in a community;
• Raising rents in uncontrolled communities within the same larger market area;
• Forcing residents into units that do not best meet their needs, perhaps depriving other residents of units they need; • Increased fiscal costs associated with rent control programs;
• Deterioration or lack of investment in rent-controlled buildings;
• Disincentivizing investment in the rental community, resulting in fewer rental units;
• Inhibiting mobility, thus creating a barrier to entry for new renters seeking housing in rent-controlled communities;
• Distributing the limited benefits of rent regulation disproportionally to higher-income, older and white residents, respectively;
• Substantially reducing the value of rent-regulated properties as well as nearby unregulated rental properties, thereby reducing real estate tax revenue to the locality; and
• Failing to address, if not negatively impacting, eviction prevention, renter well-being, renter educational attainment opportunities and neighborhood quality.

According to the Housing Solutions Coalition:

"Decades of academic research from across the United States and around the world clearly show that rent caps – more commonly known as rent control – reduce the supply of available housing and fail to target those renters who need help the most while simultaneously harming other residents and the communities they reside in ... there is no debate. Rent caps hurt renters and communities."

MBA supports common sense solutions to prioritize building more housing:

• Streamlining the permitting process
• Providing financial incentives to help builders
• Providing regulatory incentives
• Eliminating exclusionary zoning and discriminatory land use policies
• Identifying and utilizing public land

Important News and Announcements about State and Local Rent Control Policies

• June 26, 2025: Supply, demand triumph again in housing market (Las Vegas Review Journal)
• May 8, 2025: St. Paul City Council ends rent control for housing built after 2024 (Twin Cities Pioneer Press)
• November 6, 2024: Prop. 33, California’s rent control measure, fails for third time despite housing crisis (The Sacramento Bee)
• October 11, 2024: No on Proposition 33. This rent control measure could make the housing shortage worse (LA Times)
• July 12, 2024:  Housing Groups Respond to FHFA’s Announcement on Resident-Centered Practices and President Biden’s Press Conference Remarks on Rent Control (Mortgage Bankers Association)
• June 28, 2024: Housing Solutions Coalition: There Is No Debate. Rent Caps Hurt Renters and Communities (Mortgage Bankers Association)
• June 16, 2024: Broad Coalition of Housing Groups Cautions Against Proposed Rent Cap (Mortgage Bankers Association)
• April 12, 2024: Javier Milei Got Rid of Rent Control in Argentina. Housing Supply Skyrocketed (Newsweek)