ABSTRACT
The case studies provide a rich history of various types of rent control in the United States and Canada, primarily the second-generation rent control systems that emerged in 1969 and have continued through the 1990s. Advocates of strong rent controls take two approaches. As long as serious housing problems remain and absent any other viable policy, they argue that rent regulation is needed to subsidize housing for those whose rent burdens are unfairly high. The emergence of second-generation controls, in response to both market and constitutional concerns, has created a much more subtle landscape of regulation in rental housing. Anti-rent control hyperbole has often reached a fever pitch during electoral campaigns in California. In New York City, the long-running debate over rent control has also frequently turned shrill. The chapter also presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book.
