By Manuel Pastor, Vanessa Carter, and Maya Abood
October 10, 2018
Please note: reports dated earlier than June 2020 were published under our previous names: the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) or the USC Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration (CSII).
Rent Matters shows that rent stabilization is one tool in addressing the housing crisis with far fewer negative impacts than is generally thought. It will not address everything but it also will not impede the housing market. It is a useful tool in a crisis.
Surveying existing research on rent regulations, we find that moderate rent controls do not constrain new housing, do promote tenant stability, may lead to condo conversion (which can be limited with other tools), and may deter displacement from gentrification.
This report was commissioned by the California Community Foundation.