Rent Control
Continued from page 9
Quality of Rental Properties Deteriorates
When rents are capped, landlords are less likely to maintain
rental properties. When landlords have to subsidize their
tenants’ rents, maintenance declines and has a spiraling
effect on the entire community by lowering values, which,
in turn, lowers tax revenue to local government. Less tax
revenue undermines government maintenance and services,
and the cycle continues.
Higher Costs for All Renters
Rent control also contributes to escalating costs of market-
rate rental properties and new construction not subject to
rent control laws. Rent control discourages investment in
new construction, limiting supply and driving costs higher
for the units that are built.
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
Further, rent control increases costs for new renters in
the form of higher taxes to cover government programs that
implement rent control policies.
Conclusion
Instead of government intervention in the form of artifi cial
market mandates like rent control, Californians will benefi t
from lawmaker action that encourages housing develop-
ment to boost supply throughout the state. Greater supply
will increase affordability. Enacting policies that better match
housing development with cities’ population growth, instead
of failed rent control schemes, will help California return to its
status as a great state in which to live, work, and raise a family.
december 2018-january 2019
gmhtoday.com
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