A housing shortage in the United States, along with higher interest rates that have driven more people to rent, is leading cities and states to pursue rent control—a practice that some cities have had for decades.
State and local policies vary, but governments use rent control to cap the monthly rent that landlords can charge their tenants or limit how much rents can be increased yearly—usually by no more than 2 to 10 percent.
A Moody’s Analytics U.S. State of Rent Burden report earlier this year found that most renters now spend more than a third of their monthly income on rent, which it labels “rent burdened.”
That has led progressive cities and states across the country to either implement or put on the ballot more limits on how much a landlord or property owner can raise rates.
Oregon was the first to implement statewide rent control on older apartments in 2019, with California following in 2020. Rent control also exists in Washington, New York, New Jersey, and Maryland.
Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, and Massachusetts are considering proposals to add rent control. In response, landlord advocates say rent ceilings do not bring down prices.
Alexandra Alvarado, director of education for the 145,000-member American Apartment Owners Association (AAOA), told The Epoch Times that some of her members have found that rent control has actually helped cause them to increase rates more often.
