What is Rent Control?
Rent control is the act of a governing body exerting control over how much landlords may raise rent. Several major cities in the US have rent control, most notably New York City. In cities, the city government usually enacts rent control laws. There are opponents to and proponents of rent control.
Opponents feel rent control strips landlords of their rights as property owners, since it does dictate how much a landlord can charge once a tenant is established. They also feel that new people to an area must pay a high price for rent control of established tenants, since such control does not always exist for new tenants.
In other words, rents rise because established tenants are not likely to move and give up the advantage of paying rents that are below market value. Thus available properties are offered at very high rents. If rent control were abolished, then rents would go up for some but would stabilize so that new renters would not have to pay overwhelmingly high prices.
Opponents also argue that rent control may ultimately cost landlords more, and make some landlords into slumlords by necessity. Strictly controlled rent means that property owners may not have the money to make necessary repairs on properties, if rent raises do not keep pace with inflation rates for other industries, like construction, or painting industries.
Proponents of rent control feel that raising rents leads to unstable and unbalanced communities. When people’s economic circumstances change, such as when they have another child, or when they retire, raising rent may force them to have to move. This means that a neighborhood fluctuates as to tenants and decreases the chances that neighbors really get to know each other. It also means that some people will have to move into increasingly poorer or less safe neighborhoods if their incomes are not in keeping with rent values.
Lack of rent control does affect school districts and their ability to predict attendance and budget. If people must move because rent increases are high, then children may have to change schools on a frequent basis. It also tends to decrease the diversity of a neighborhood, when rent increases will only support people of a certain income level residing in a particular area.
For the proponent of rent control, the ideal community is one composed of people of varying socio-economic status, age groups, and ethnic groups. High rents tend to segregate populations that would be more diverse if rent control laws were enacted.
There are good points for and against rent control, and both sides do share similar concerns. One of these is that high rents, even in a rent-controlled area are not in keeping with compensation, especially for those without college or high school educations. Most proponents and opponents of rent control also share concerns about the lack of diversity in neighborhoods. However each group poses different solutions to these problems.
Written by Tricia Ellis-Christensen
