My point is not that it should be legal (as an NYC renter I’d be glad to see a cap on broker’s fees), but that we shouldn’t delude ourselves into thinking that

My point is not that it should be legal (as an NYC renter I’d be glad to see a cap on broker’s fees), but that we shouldn’t delude ourselves into thinking that artificial price ceilings would work if only we plugged one last loophole. For every loophole you plug there are two more. This is not true of, say, murder! Whenever we artificially manipulate the market with ceiling prices, it necessarily means there will be some demand unfulfilled. A better approach is to build enough housing to satisfy the demand.