Rent Control refers to laws or ordinances that regulate the how much a property can be rented for or how much rent can be increased once a property is rented.

In the United States rent control is rare outside of cities with large tenant populations, notably New York, New York and San Francisco, California. Smaller communities also have rent control, notably Santa Monica, California and many small towns in New Jersey.

Proponents of rent control claim that it is neccesary to prevent greedly landlords from evicting the elderly and the poor, a consiquence of gentrification.

Opponents of rent control consider it an intrusion into the free market and an illegal taking of a landlords property. They also claim that rent control results in an overall decrease in the quantity and quality of housing stock in a city.

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