The Hidden Costs of Rent Control How it Affects Your Wallet

Rent control will limit rent increases when your lease renewal comes around, which is helpful to those who are already renting a place. However, it also tends to reduce the amount of construction and reduce the amount of property maintenance from what it would be otherwise. This results in higher rents for properties that are in worse condition all things being equal. As a result, if you're looking to rent in those states you'll tend to face higher rents. Additionally, these ripple effects also make it more difficult for renters to move later on. This is because while rent control limits the amount of rent increases at renewal, it typically does not limit the initial rent a landlord can charge a new rental applicant for the property. This can result in renters being stuck in place. So you'll definitely want to review the rent control rules for the area that you're looking to move to.