It’s an important point to remember, for this and other policy evaluations (labor unions come to mind), that it’s very rare to find a serious academic who will say “good” or “bad” in a vacuum. The questions are “how much” and “under what conditions”. In environments with long-established and slow-to-change property ownership, and a history of tenant maltreatment, interventions like rent control and eviction limits and enforced mediation before court are perhaps necessary to solve problems. In environments where it’s pretty easy to enter and exit the rental market, and tenants have a bit of power because empty units suck, probably less regulation keeps things moving.
And, of course, in the real world where government causes a shortage by preventing creation of housing, and it’s hard to become a landlord because of all the regulation, and as a result tenants are mistreated because there are many more of them than spots available, there is no good answer. Rent control is the wrong tool to address a supply problem.
It’s an important point to remember, for this and other policy evaluations (labor unions come to mind), that it’s very rare to find a serious academic who will say “good” or “bad” in a vacuum. The questions are “how much” and “under what conditions”. In environments with long-established and slow-to-change property ownership, and a history of tenant maltreatment, interventions like rent control and eviction limits and enforced mediation before court are perhaps necessary to solve problems. In environments where it’s pretty easy to enter and exit the rental market, and tenants have a bit of power because empty units suck, probably less regulation keeps things moving.
And, of course, in the real world where government causes a shortage by preventing creation of housing, and it’s hard to become a landlord because of all the regulation, and as a result tenants are mistreated because there are many more of them than spots available, there is no good answer. Rent control is the wrong tool to address a supply problem.