Rent Control Creates Slums

[Russell Brazil]

I am a firm believer that rent control creates slums, and contributes to the deterioration of property.  This is on my mind specifically this week as the Washington DC City Council is considering a bill to clamp down on "slumlords" who let maintenance issues go longer than 30 days.  Now I absolutely believe landlords should be held accountable and keep up their properties...but rent control is a hindrance to this.  By limiting the amount of money the free market would let flow to a property owner, the government is in turn limiting how much money that property owner can then spend to maintain their property.  I do sympathize with those who can not afford high rents, but that burden should not be put on property owners, but rather the state should bear that responsibility.  One of the things that stuck out to me in the story below, which has prompted these meetings of the city council is that the one woman is paying $600 a month for an apartment where rents are about $1900 for a similar unit not controlled by rent control. (In DC you are only subject to rent control if you own 5 units or more).  What repairs can possibly be done to maintain the property when you are getting only $600 a month in one of the most expensive cities in America?

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/48112/at-what-price-amidst-pristine-high-rises-and-condemned-buildings/

[Anthony Gayden]

I honestly don't like the idea behind rent control, but many of these landlords made a conscious decision and bought properties they knew were rent controlled. If they did that and based the purchase price on a proforma that included no rent control, that was their mistake.

It is their own fault. I personally never would have made that decision. If I had, it better have been for a good reason. Huge tax breaks, near 0% vacancy loss, and a substantial discount on the cost of the property seem like good reasons.