Reevaluating Rent Control

Rent control is under consideration in a growing number of cities around the country as a measure to control rising rental costs.

"Advocates have long touted the policy as a way to keep rents from growing exponentially, and support for it appears to be growing," according to an article by Natalie Delgadillo. "At least three states -- California, Illinois and Washington -- have introduced legislation that would allow cities to enact more rent controls."

There are, however, many critics of the policy, who say, "rent control leads to dilapidated units, deferred maintenance and an overall reduction of the rental housing stock," explains Delgadillo.

Delgadillo presents these opposing arguments as context for a new study by researchers at Stanford University, which examines evidence from the city of San Francisco. "Researchers found that rent control does create substantial benefits for tenants who live in rent-controlled units -- but those benefits aren’t shared by society as a whole," according to Delgadillo.