rent control

Rent control

Municipal regulation restricting the amount of rent that a building owner can charge.

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Rent Control

A local law setting maximums on the amount landlords can charge tenants on certain properties. This is done primarily to protect tenants from certain actions, such as increases in rent at the end of a lease on tenants who ask for repairs. Proponents argue that rent control gives tenants a degree of stability that would not otherwise exist. Opponents contend that rent control discourages investment in housing, reducing the quantity (and perhaps the quality) of rental housing available.

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rent control

Laws that regulate the rent that can be charged for space. Rent-control laws were originally enacted as emergency measures after World Wars I and II,because many returning service personnel emigrated to urban centers.This caused housing shortages and dramatic rent increases, with a resulting increase in evictions.Today,rent control is seen as a legitimate exercise of a government's police power and usually does not require an emergency situation.The state of New York differentiates between rent-controlled apartments and rent-stabilized apartments because of the dates of differing legislation. Rent-controlled apartments are still operating under laws enacted in 1947. They require that the tenant have continuously occupied the apartment since before July 1, 1971. As those apartments vacate, they become rent-stabilized under other legislation, or they become decontrolled under some circumstances.