Abstract
Rent control generically describes a range of regulations governing rents, as well as related contract features such as security of tenure and required maintenance. There is debate in the literature about the efficacy of controls based on (1) whether the housing market is best modelled as a competitive market, or one where landlords have market power; and (2) whether regulators have sufficient information and appropriate mechanisms to improve imperfect market outcomes. Many empirical studies find that rent controls score badly as redistributive systems. Many basic questions, especially regarding dynamic effects on the supply of housing, have yet to be credibly answered.
This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd edition, 2008. Edited by Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume
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Malpezzi, S. (2008). Rent Control. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_1520-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_1520-2
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95121-5
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Latest
Rent Control- Published:
- 24 March 2017
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_1520-2
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Original
Rent Control- Published:
- 17 November 2016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_1520-1