
Many U.S. cities use price controls to restrict the rent a landlord may charge for residential properties. Generally, rent control exists in pricey markets. San Francisco, as an example, employs a few of California’s toughest rent control laws. As of 2010, the average cost for a two-bedroom unit at town is $1,760, compared to the statewide average of $1,327, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. While rent control poses a fantastic deal for a few, there are associated costs.
Lower Rents
Clearly, rent control results in lower rents for a number of a city’s residents. Not all cities operate let control precisely the identical way–if they even use it to begin with–nevertheless, San Francisco’s program is representative of all rent control schemes. The city permits landlords to increase tenants’ rent once a year on the”anniversary date” of their initial move-in, according to the San Francisco Rent Board. The Rent Board sets the yearly allowable rate of growth in December, for implementation the following March 1st. Between March 1, 2010 and February 28, 2011, San Francisco landlords may increase rent by only 0.1 percent. The preceding year’s allowable hike was 2.2 percent. If a tenant leaves a rental unit in San Francisco, the landlord could charge any rent she pleases; nevertheless, she should still abide by the above limits.
Connected Protections
Cities with rent control typically legislate related tenant protections. San Francisco from the north and Santa Monica from the south are just two classic California examples. Both cities’ rent control laws stand side-by-side along with other considerations for tenants, most notably policies regarding evictions. While California law permits landlords to finish a month-to-month tenancy from the country with simply a 30- or 60-day notice, as stated by the nation’s Department of Consumer Affairs, San Francisco and Santa Monica don’t. Both cities only allow landlords to evict a tenant for a”just cause,” which includes nonpayment of rent, breach of the lease arrangement and unlawful use of this rental unit.
Reduced Mobility
Since the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) asserts, rent management discourages people from moving. If a tenant is at a rent-controlled unit, especially in a big and costly city, such as New York or San Francisco, he could, for obvious reasons, want to stay inside. This may lead to older individuals not choosing to downsize and younger households deciding to stick it out at bigger quarters. NMHC asserts that this hurts the poor, who are often forced to travel considerable distances to jobs they are qualified for since many rent-controlled units can be found in high-priced city centers.
Housing Quality Issues
A classic disadvantage of rent control entails home quality. In other words, critics assert that rent control discourages landlords from making repairs and updating their possessions. In a market without rental management, as soon as a landlord enriches her house, she has the option of passing the cost on to her tenant in the form of higher rent. Though the tenant has to pay higher rent, he still stands to profit from the improvements made to his living quarters. NMHC links this rent control con with a decrease in property tax revenues in cities with cost limitations relative to people where cost controls are absent. They claim that rent control lowers the market value of properties resulting in a lower property tax bills.