ABSTRACT
Rent control, like all social policy, can be considered within a larger theoretical domain. Such consideration can generate interesting and sometimes provocative insights into what is going on beneath the surface storms of this controversial form of regulation and can encourage us to probe the deeper social ocean in which the storms occur. The imposition of rent control during wars or crises, when solidarity is most valued, is evidence of the important role of equity. The existence of economic rent implies a structure of rules and practices that legitimizes its allocation. A landlord may deal unjustly with a tenant within the bounds of a system of rental regulation, but the injustice—as in cases of harassment—arises from general rights in the law rather than a specific right inherent in rental regulation itself. Like other housing policies, rent control also exhibits a strong element of equity-seeking in its rationale.
