Summary
Rent regulation is a system of laws, administered by a court or a public authority, which aims to ensure the affordability of housing and tenancies on the rental market for dwellings. Generally, a system of rent regulation involves: Price controls, limits on the rent that a landlord may charge, typically called rent control or rent stabilization Eviction controls: codified standards by which a landlord may terminate a tenancy Obligations on the landlord or tenant regarding adequate maintenance of the property A system of oversight and enforcement by an independent regulator and ombudsman The loose term "rent control" covers a spectrum of regulation which can vary from setting the absolute amount of rent that can be charged, with no allowed increases, to placing different limits on the amount that rent can increase; these restrictions may continue between tenancies, or may be applied only within the duration of a tenancy. As of 2016, at least 14 of the 36 OECD countries have some form of rent control in effect, including four states in the United States. Rent regulation is one of several classes of policies intended to improve housing affordability, alongside subsidies (including vouchers and tax credits) and policies aimed at expanding the housing supply. There is consensus among economists that rent control reduces the quality and quantity of housing units. The loose term "rent control" can apply to several types of price control: "strict price ceilings", also known as rent freeze systems, or absolute or first generation rent controls, in which no increases in rent are allowed at all (rent is typically frozen at the rate existing when the law was enacted) "vacancy control", also known as strict or strong rent control, in which the rental price can rise, but continues to be regulated in between tenancies (a new tenant pays almost the same rent as the previous tenant) and "vacancy decontrol", also known as tenancy or second-generation rent control, which limits price increases during a tenancy, but allows rents to rise to market rate between tenancies (new tenants pay market rate rent, but increases are limited as long as they remain).
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