5 ms·

Rent control leads to a wide range of adverse effects

7 points by jseliger 2y ago

downrightmike 2y ago
And they all work well to support the community, just doesn't work for landlords. So the land lords should get out of that game if they can't play.
- chung8123 2y ago
  That is not what was in the article. Older housing stock that is minimally maintained, less housing supply, increased rent for others, and inability to move to new location in the city are just some of them.
  - msoad 2y ago
    It's just on brand to hate on landlords. You don't need logic for that.
  - downrightmike 2y ago
    So land lords aren't maintaining and aren't building, how is that rent control's problem?
    - asdefghyk 2y ago
      "...land lords ....aren`t building ...." Its a side effect, caused by rent control. So i am not sure if it would be regarded as a "rent control problem" Government should be doing the building.
msoad 2y ago
This article from Berlin is very interesting. The city presents two totally different universes when it comes to renting an apartment. Either you're one of the lucky ones to secure a rent-controlled unit and never (literally never) officially leave the unit. Folks often do under-the-table deals to keep the price low for their friends. It's so common that rental websites even advertise "house swap" deals where you swap units and keep the contracts under the same names. Or you're out of luck and will pay much higher rent prices since you can't get a rent-controlled unit. It's a wealth redistribution scheme that benefits whoever is lucky enough to secure a contract, not necessarily someone who needs it. I know software engineers in Berlin who make 100k Euros and pay 700 Euros/month in rent, while someone who makes 30k Euros pays 1500 Euros/month. Rent control is so obviously broken, and I am shocked at how it is never properly criticized. Maybe because on the surface it seems like a nice deal: "lower rents are good!" However, the unintended consequences, such as reduced housing quality, decreased mobility, and increased rents for uncontrolled units, show that the policy often does more harm than good.
asdefghyk 2y ago
What is missing here is any mention of the "rental vacancy rate" Regardless, any area where there is rent control , there will most likely be a sharp drop or non existent construction of new dwellings (by private owners ) for rent. In this case, the government needs to be building the new dwellings. Thats my observation

7 points by jseliger 2y ago

And they all work well to support the community, just doesn't work for landlords. So the land lords should get out of that game if they can't play.

chung8123 2y ago
That is not what was in the article. Older housing stock that is minimally maintained, less housing supply, increased rent for others, and inability to move to new location in the city are just some of them.
- msoad 2y ago
  It's just on brand to hate on landlords. You don't need logic for that.
- downrightmike 2y ago
  So land lords aren't maintaining and aren't building, how is that rent control's problem?
  - asdefghyk 2y ago
    "...land lords ....aren`t building ...." Its a side effect, caused by rent control. So i am not sure if it would be regarded as a "rent control problem" Government should be doing the building.

msoad 2y ago

This article from Berlin is very interesting. The city presents two totally different universes when it comes to renting an apartment. Either you're one of the lucky ones to secure a rent-controlled unit and never (literally never) officially leave the unit. Folks often do under-the-table deals to keep the price low for their friends. It's so common that rental websites even advertise "house swap" deals where you swap units and keep the contracts under the same names. Or you're out of luck and will pay much higher rent prices since you can't get a rent-controlled unit. It's a wealth redistribution scheme that benefits whoever is lucky enough to secure a contract, not necessarily someone who needs it. I know software engineers in Berlin who make 100k Euros and pay 700 Euros/month in rent, while someone who makes 30k Euros pays 1500 Euros/month. Rent control is so obviously broken, and I am shocked at how it is never properly criticized. Maybe because on the surface it seems like a nice deal: "lower rents are good!" However, the unintended consequences, such as reduced housing quality, decreased mobility, and increased rents for uncontrolled units, show that the policy often does more harm than good.

asdefghyk 2y ago

What is missing here is any mention of the "rental vacancy rate" Regardless, any area where there is rent control , there will most likely be a sharp drop or non existent construction of new dwellings (by private owners ) for rent. In this case, the government needs to be building the new dwellings. Thats my observation