Here’s evidence, if anyone needs it, that rent control contributes to housing scarcity: a new report says that more than 13,000 rent-controlled apartments have been vacant for at least two years. Nearly 90,000 rent-controlled apartments were vacant in 2021 and more than 60,000 were still vacant in 2022.
Manhattan apartment building. Photo by David Merrett.
When people leave a New York City rent-controlled apartment, landlords are allowed to raise the rent for the next occupants by $89 a month. Too often, that’s not enough to pay for the repairs and other work needed to make the apartment attractive to new renters. As a result, the apartments sit vacant, waiting for the owners to sell or, less likely, for the rent control law to be repealed. Continue reading
