Rent Control Apartment Buildings

Most people have heard of rent control, particularly in reference to the New York housing market. But how many people really know what rent control is? And how many people know that many other cities have passed rent control legislation?

What Is Rent Control?

Rent control is in place when a governmental body restricts property owners from increasing their rent, except under very specific circumstances, and even in those cases, the increases are generally regulated. First introduced during wartime, the purpose of rent control is to preserve housing options for people with low or moderate incomes, limit the ability of a landlord to evict a tenant and encourage proper maintenance of rental properties, according to the Santa Monica Rent Control Board, a rent control advocacy group.

How Do Rent Control Apartment Buildings Work?

In most cases, rent control limits what the landlord can charge a tenant, and defines limits for annual rent increases. If the tenant moves out, the landlord can raise the rent, but usually only a certain percentage. Rent control laws also create restrictions on landlords who want to evict tenants, and generally restrict the conversion of apartment buildings into condominiums, a common practice in urban areas.

Locating Rent Control Apartment Buildings

More than 200 cities across the United States (and more in Canada and other countries) have enacted rent control laws, including big cities like New York City, San Francisco and Washington, DC, as well as smaller cities like Santa Monica, CA, West Hollywood, CA and many smaller towns in New Jersey. If you're moving to a new city, contact city officials to determine whether rent control applies to your area or your building. In some cases, only buildings in certain parts of a city, such as San Francisco, are affected by rent control laws.

What should you be aware of if you're looking for rent controlled apartment buildings? First of all, know that in areas where rent control is in place, it might be more difficult to find available rentals. In addition, because the rent the landlord can charge existing tenants is limited, any new apartment that does become available might be more expensive than the average dwelling in the area. That said, once you do find an apartment, you can rest easy knowing that your rent can only increase by a set percentage on an annual basis, and your landlord will have to jump through some hoops--such as proving you're not paying your rent--before he or she can evict you from your new home.