Strong Reactions to New York Rent Control Changes

Earlier in June, the New York State Legislature passed a law allowing local governments to pass new rent control regulations, in a decision that was expected to have a spillover effect in cities around the state besides New York City.

The reactions since the law was approved have lined up on either side of the issue, with tenants facing off against landlord in the argument about whether the new law, and the local rent control regulations that will follow, will make the housing market better or worse for low-income and other housing-stressed residents.

We identified the following list of articles as helpful for brushing up on the politics of rent control in New York—where it's likely to be informative of rent control debates coming soon to other states and cities looking for solutions to a housing crisis showing no signs of stopping.

• The one issue every economist can agree is bad: Rent control (The Washington Post, June 14, 2019)
• New rent regs will cripple affordable-housing programs, developers warn (Crain's New York Business, June 17, 2019)
• Big Real Estate Peddles the Myth that New York Rent Control Mainly Targets Small Landlords (Pacific Standard, June 19, 2019)
• Fitch: NYC rent regulations a negative for multifamily lenders (HousingWire, June 21, 2019)
• How New Rent Laws in N.Y. Help All Tenants (The New York Times, June 21, 2019)