Why President Biden’s rent stabilization proposal won’t solve the housing crisis

July 23, 2024

President Joe Biden proposed legislation on July 16 aimed at implementing nationwide rent stabilization for the next three years, targeting units overseen by landlords with 50 or more units to prevent annual rent increases exceeding 5%. This initiative, affecting 20 million units—which is half of the rental market—aims to address soaring rent costs amid an ongoing housing crisis exacerbated by limited construction post-2008 and pandemic-related disruptions.

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Most of the research related to this is on rent control rather than rent stabilization like Biden’s proposal, but the effects are likely similar. As with much economic research, rent control policy outcomes can be hard to assess. Economics 101 tells us that in a free market, rent control’s price cap decreases profitability, inevitably leading to less rental housing being available.

However, some studies disagree. This article by Rutgers professor Mark Paul goes over many studies that find positive effects of rent control, mainly for those people who live in rent-controlled units whose costs are frozen. The research is clear that some people do benefit from rent control.

Reason Foundation.org, July 23, 2024

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