ABSTRACT
In this chapter the authors trace the implications both in the market and in the administration of a ‘typical’ set of landlord and tenant provisions that control rents, evictions, conditions of tenancy, etc. This is not necessarily based on any particular piece of legislation. The Act froze rents as of a certain date (six months in the past) for all residential tenancies in the city. It made it an offence to charge a rent greater than that which prevailed as of the particular prescribed date. In a situation where ‘market rents’ were not subject to any upward pressure, this initial action would have little or no effect. While there are always people who cannot pay the going rent, the peculiar phenomenon of rent control is the existence of people who are suitable prospective tenants who can pay the rent but cannot find a place to live.
