3 ms·

"That just means rents will go up even more to compensate landlords for the risk of having to pay higher taxes when the unit is vacant." Landlords will always

"That just means rents will go up even more to compensate landlords for the risk of having to pay higher taxes when the unit is vacant." Landlords will always charge the absolute highest rate that they can get away with, regardless of the taxes they have to pay. So raising taxes on vacant units will not raise rents even one single penny, as they'll already be as high as it's possible for landlords to charge and rent in that market (or, in the case of vacant units, even higher).

rsj_hn 6y ago
That they can "get away" with means demand. By increasing demand for the unit, for example by putting it under rent control, then landlords will be able to charge more. You are assuming that demand for the unit with rent control is the same as demand for the unit without rent control. This is why you think the rent control is "free" -- that it doesn't raise prices for tenants even though they think it's very important and are willing to pay more for such units.