4 ms·
Rent controls work if and only if there's sufficient authority and incentives to motivate developers to grow housing inventory vertically (skyscrapers) and/or h
by dfeojm-zlib 7y ago
Rent controls work if and only if there's sufficient authority and incentives to motivate developers to grow housing inventory vertically (skyscrapers) and/or horizontally (sprawl + public transport) just enough to not have a glut while aiming to approximate the desired rent-controlled price(s) such that there's less arbitrage, gaming, property owner loss and/or exploitation. (In effect, rent-controlling with structural market policies, while providing rent controls as a secondary guaranty layer to protect renters, especially vulnerable populations.) Housing is one of the more inelastic markets because everyone needs it, and so even minor constraints in supply can rapidly lead to price spikes.
- malandrew 7y agoIf there were sufficient authority and incentives to motivate developers to grow housing inventory, rent control wouldn't be advocated for in the first place.
- sitkack 7y agoAre you sure the choice is binary?
- ngngngng 7y agoSo rent control is cheating? Let's keep prices low without allowing supply to grow to meet demand by zoning for larger buildings and cheaper dwellings.
- munk-a 7y agoWhy should developers be incentivized to grow housing inventory over independent owners? Large scale developers already have quite a lot of assets to distribute as needed - I do agree that onerous construction impediments should be lowered (those sourced from NIMBYism - not general sustainability and environment concerned) and those impediments - or outright blocks - are responsible for a lot of the housing crises we can observe today.