In Montreal, we have rent control that has worked spectacularly. Rent is significantly below what it costs in comparable cities across Canada, the United States

In Montreal, we have rent control that has worked spectacularly. Rent is significantly below what it costs in comparable cities across Canada, the United States and even Europe. This all stems from our laws originating in French common law which is decidedly more for-the-people than British law. Our rent control works because it applies between leases. Last year rent increases were frozen at 0.5%. In the apartment that I moved into, the landlord is not allowed to increase the rent more than 0.5% above what the previous tenant was paying. Increase are also allowed in order to reflect any major renovations performed to the unit. Increases due to renovations must be anchored to the cost of the renovation, and distributed over the next 10 years of rental. This system works spectacularly for renters. Some people may argue that this leads to more slums, but it effectively incentivises landlords to renovate their units in order to maximize their returns.