Rent Control - Definition & How It Works

Rent control, or rent regulation, usually refers to laws and ordinances limiting how much a landlord can increase rent in a given period and set conditions for when and how much they can raise rents. Such regulations are set to make housing affordable by imposing price controls. There are generally two types of rent regulation :

1. Eviction control        

2. Price control

Both require landlords to limit their rates for tenants based on factors such as salaries and inflation. Eviction controls specify criteria under which tenants cannot be evicted, whereas price controls define how landlords can increase rent. Controlling the eviction rates is often difficult due to constant changes in housing markets; therefore, wage-related regulations are more common.

Rent control is more common in cities where competition for limited housing stock raises market-rate prices out of reach for these residents.

According to the National Multifamily Housing Council’s website, rent control is not applicable in all United States.

For example, some states have neither rent control nor premonitions, including the following: Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Ohio, Maine, Hawaii, Delaware, Alaska, Nevada, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.