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FACT BRIEF

Can rent control have adverse effects on housing affordability?

By Keshav Srikant
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YES

While rent control makes targeted housing more affordable for recipients by capping rent hikes, it has in some cases made housing more expensive overall.

A meta-analysis of 112 empirical studies on the effects of rent control found that the policy can financially discourage developers from building new housing while encouraging landlords to convert their rentals into homes. Combined with rent-controlled units being taken off the market for long periods of time by tenants unwilling to leave, housing supply is artificially driven down while housing demand is driven up. This results in more expensive housing among uncontrolled units.

Other housing affordability policies have better track records. Among the most impactful is inclusive zoning reform that allows the construction of multifamily dwellings in more areas and on more types of land.

Public housing initiatives have also been highly successful in Europe, but suffer from underfunding and stigma in the U.S.

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Sources
Journal of Housing Economics Rent control effects through the lens of empirical research: An almost complete review of the literature
Network for Public Health Law Policy Approaches for Improving Housing Affordability and Availability
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.