Housing advocates keep calling for rent control in an expensive city like New York. This, however, is a terrible idea. Rent control only helps a small group of renters while keeping the overall rent artificially high by disincentivizing new construction. As city living has become more popular than ever, particularly in the United States, the housing supply can’t keep up. This results in prices rising steeply, becoming so bad in New York City that it has inspired political policy.

Since the 1990s, median rent has doubled in the U.S., outpacing inflation by quite a bit. New York, like many cities, has put in place various affordable-housing policies over time, to little avail. Rent control, like any other form of price control, rarely has long-term benefits, so it should not be implemented in New York State.

With rent control implemented across the state, there will be no incentive to upgrade homes, and prices will fall below the market. Landlords won’t be able to increase rent year-over-year, causing them to lack funds to improve properties. The urge to upgrade the home decreases dramatically, decreasing the value of the housing. 

Rent-controlled apartments and houses tend to drop below-market rents, and the longer the unit is rent-controlled, the more it will fall behind. Landlords won’t make as much revenue from their properties with rents capped at a finite amount, making it harder for landlords and property owners to reach financial goals.

If rent control is implemented across a state like New York, investors and developers will lose the incentive to construct new homes and apartments. The unit they want to build will be subject to these laws; why start building in the first place? The decrease in new housing will make for a more competitive market and decrease the ability of renters to choose where they want to live. 

For the benefit of both renters and property owners, rent control should not be implemented.