Why do 90% of economists oppose rent control?

Video summary

Evidence from 92 studies says rent control lowers current tenants’ rents but shrinks rental supply; Auckland’s building boom offers another path.

New York froze rents for stabilized apartments, echoing tighter controls in cities such as Dublin, Berlin and Paris. The video contrasts this popular policy with economists’ concerns, drawing on a review of 92 studies across 36 countries: rent controls lower rents for current tenants, but often reduce rental supply, tenant mobility, housing quality and new construction, while pushing rents up in nearby uncontrolled areas. Spain and the United States illustrate that rental ownership is widely dispersed, so landlords generally are not natural monopolists. The proposed alternative is to build more homes, including public and social housing. Auckland’s 2016 rezoning allowed denser construction; inflation-adjusted rents stabilized there while rising sharply in Wellington. Yet surveys show many Americans expect construction to raise prices, helping explain why politicians favor rent caps. The video questions whether New York Mayor Mamdani will pair controls with enough housing construction.

Chapters

1. 0:00The rent control divide: New York’s freeze and economists’ 2% support
2. 1:57When price controls work: utility monopolies, unlike fragmented rental markets
3. 5:49What 92 studies found: lower controlled rents, less supply, and declining quality
4. 11:04The economists’ solution: Auckland’s 2016 rezoning and more homes of every kind
5. 14:05Why cities reject more housing: 42–43% expect building to raise prices
6. 15:47Can we do both? Mamdani’s rent-stabilized housing plan and the construction trade-off